Ripple Reportedly Considering Insolvent Celsius Buyout

Key Insights:

• Blockchain payment Ripple has expressed “interest” in acquiring bankrupt crypto lender Celsius.
• Ripple is actively looking for merges and acquisitions to “strategically scale the company.”
• Celsius is facing multiple difficulties – it froze withdrawals in June, filed for bankruptcy in July, facing regulatory scrutiny from SEC.

The now bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Holding, with native token CEL, has been the talk of the town this week. For instance, the Canadian regulators are reportedly working with US counterparts to investigate the company’s insolvency. In yet another separate instance this week, Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky has been selling his CEL tokens, given its recent surge.

Amid a slew of difficulties, the cryptocurrency lender faces, Celsius and its assets have been of great interest to blockchain behemoth Ripple Labs (XRP).

Is XRP Eyeing CEL Acquisition?

Per a Reuters report on Wednesday, Ripple is “interested” in studying Celsius and assets for its business before considering a possible merge. A spokesperson from the firm told the publication,

“We are interested in learning about Celsius and its assets and whether any could be relevant to our business.”

However, the representative did not clarify whether the company would officially acquire Celsius. Additionally, the latter has not commented on this matter.

The news left various crypto speculators wondering why the San Francisco-based Ripple would buy something that has been facing bankruptcy and lawsuits.

Crypto user and a Youtuber who has been highly vocal on XRP said that the possible interest could be a part of Ripple’s “buyback scenario.”

Hmmm,if this is solely for the assets,One has to wonder if this is another part of the #Ripple buyback scenario? If not,what could they want with #Celsius the company?#RETWEET https://t.co/IhsjkaXAP4

— Digital Perspectives (@DigPerspectives) August 10, 2022

Another user Tweeted, questioning what kind of liquidity the integration could bring to Ripple’s on-demand liquidity (ODL).

Never really looked into #Celsius #CEL but if @Ripple does actually buy what’s left of it. Other #DigitalAssets transacting on the #XRPL is what could be important. Does anyone know what kind of liquidity this could bring to #ODL when/if integrated?

— BrutalHustler.XRP (@Xplashio) August 11, 2022

Ripple is Looking to Scale

Ripple’s spokesperson continued stating that the blockchain firm is actively looking” for potential opportunities for acquisitions.

“Ripple has continued to grow exponentially and is actively looking for M&A opportunities to strategically scale the company.”

This is so true as the company, despite its current challenges and charges with the SEC, foresees its growth across the crypto world. In a recent tweet, the CEO of the company, Brad Garlinghouse, shared XRP’s strategy for surviving the bear market.

It’s never easy, but there are a few key reasons why Ripple has weathered the cyclical bear markets, as we will do here and continue growing. 1/ having an experienced exec team that has been through the dot com bubble, 2008 financial crisis, 2018 crypto winter and more.

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) June 13, 2022

The XRP token has been rising slightly by 5.19% to 0.3811 at press time.

On the other hand, Celsius has had a hard blow in the crypto market. Starting from freezing its users’ assets in June, citing “extreme market conditions,” and filing for bankruptcy a month later.

Per the filings, the company’s assets included cash, cryptos, CEL tokens, other digital currencies, and bitcoin (BTC) mining businesses.