Ex-Algorand CEO Steve Kokinos tapped to lead Celsius 2.0
According to court filings, the board will be expanded to nine seats
mundissima/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks
NewCo may soon have a new CEO.
The new company would rise from the ashes of the bankrupt crypto lender Celsius.
A filing on Friday, Sept. 8 nominates nine new directors and Steve Kokinos as CEO.
The plan, which the creditors and Fahrenheit put together, boosted the number of seats on the board from seven to nine.
Kokinos stepped down as CEO of Algorand in July of last year. He’s also a co-owner of Fahrenheit, which won the auction for Celsius in May of this year. As part of the deal, Fahrenheit took control of around $500 million worth of liquid crypto.
“Kokinos has been a serial entrepreneur and investor for over 25 years, founding and operating companies ranging from internet infrastructure, cloud software, communications and crypto,” the 170-page document said.
Michael Arrington, the founder of Arrington Capital, is also named as a possible board member in the documents. Arrington Capital is also an equity owner of Fahrenheit.
Other board members include Thomas DiFiore, Scott Duffy, Emmanuel Aidoo, Elizabeth A. LaPuma, and Fredrick Arnold.
Celsius received court approval on its disclosure statements detailing a plan to sell assets to Fahrenheit in August. With the approval, the bankrupt crypto lender moved a step closer to exiting the bankruptcy process.
Earlier this summer, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, Federal Trade Commission and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The CFTC claimed that Celsius “duped” customers into depositing crypto on Celsius.
The Department of Justice also charged ex-Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky with defrauding customers. According to recently unsealed documents, the DOJ froze Mashinsky’s assets in August.
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
- The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
- Empire: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.
- Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.
- 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox.
- Lightspeed: All things Solana.
- The Drop: Apps, games, memes and more.
- Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.
