Nexo Hires Citigroup to Advise on Acquisitions

Nexo is working with banking giant Citigroup (C) as it pursues a consolidation of other crypto lenders hit by the recent market downturn, according to an announcement shared with CoinDesk. The company also later announced the information in a blog post.

• The news comes weeks after rival lending platform Celsius Network halted customer withdrawals, spurring speculation of insolvency.
• “We have been approached by multiple Wall Street banks and decided to officially explore the opportunities for acquisition to help stabilize our nascent industry," said Antoni Trenchev, Nexo's co-founder and managing partner.
• The announcement states that Nexo is planning a mass consolidation of the crypto industry through mergers and acquisitions.
• On June 13, Nexo revealed that it was planning a buyout of Celsius, including assets “mostly or fully of collateralized loan receivables secured by corresponding collateral assets."
• Last week, Celsius appointed Citigroup to advise it on possible financing, following its decision to freeze withdrawals and transfers, according to a report by The Block.
• Nexo's native token, NEXO, was recently trading at 69 cents, down 3.7% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.