Ripple Labs is interested in bankrupt crypto lender Celsius’ assets

San Francisco-based blockchain payments company Ripple Labs, which is embroiled in a high-profile battle with the US securities regulator, is interested in potentially buying assets of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network, according to a company spokesperson.

“We are interested in learning about Celsius and its assets and whether any may be relevant to our business,” the spokesperson said, declining to say whether Ripple was interested in buying Celsius outright.

Ripple has continued to grow through the turmoil in the crypto market and is “actively looking for M&A opportunities to strategically scale the company,” the spokesperson said.

New Jersey-based Celsius froze withdrawals in June citing “extreme” market conditions and filed for bankruptcy in New York last month, with a $1.19 billion deficit on its balance sheet.

Last week, lawyers for Ripple submitted applications to the bankruptcy court to be represented in the proceedings. The court approved the application earlier this week. Ripple is not among Celsius’ major creditors, Celsius’ bankruptcies show. Ripple made the comment in response to Reuters’ questions about the court filings.

A lawyer approved to represent Ripple declined to comment. Celsius did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Privately owned Ripple has not previously made any major agreements. It was valued at about $15 billion after a private share buyback in January, the company said, although industry valuations have fallen significantly during a cryptocurrency price crash in recent months that helped topple Celsius and other cryptocurrency firms.

Ripple’s total sales of its cryptocurrency XRP, net of purchases, were $408.9 million in the second quarter, compared to $273.27 million in the first quarter, according to a report the company released in July.

The company was sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2020 over XRP. The agency alleges that Ripple and its current and former CEOs conducted an unregistered securities offering of $1.3 billion by selling XRP, which Ripple’s founders created in 2012.

Ripple and its executives have denied the allegations, and the company has maintained that XRP has been traded and used as a digital currency.