Quebec's Caisse Writes Off Celsius, Saying Bet Was 'Too Soon'

Quebec's $303 billion pension manager has written off its stake in bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, with its chief executive officer conceding the fund invested "too soon" in the sector. From a report: Charles Emond, CEO of the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday about the fund's decision last year to invest $150 million in Celsius. He described the crypto industry as a sector "in transition" but defended the work done by CDPQ's staff. "The due diligence was quite extensive with many experts and consultants involved. The team came in cautiously," Emond said at a news conference in Montreal. "We had a 4% equity stake. The conversations we had internally were pretty straightforward. The teams are accountable for that." Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, saying liabilities exceeded assets by more than $1 billion after a crash in crypto prices. The company is trying to restructure and has received multiple offers of fresh cash, a lawyer for the crypto lender said Tuesday. "Due diligence is not a guarantee of success," Emond said, adding that he has "empathy" for the thousands of clients who've seen their funds frozen in the bankruptcy process. The fund said the deal with Celsius marks the ends of its foray into crypto investments.

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