Canadian pension fund writes off investment in Celsius

Quick Take

  • Quebec-based pension fund wrote off its $150 million investment in Celsius.
  • The firm’s CEO said it arrived too soon to an industry in transition.

Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) revealed on Wednesday that it has written off its investment in Celsius.  

CDPQ, which manages about CAD$392 billion ($303 billion) in assets, shared its six-month returns for the first half of the year on Wednesday, registering an average return of –7.9% and revealing it wrote off CAD$200 million investment in Celsius.  

CEO Charles Emond said the cryptocurrency sector was in transition, and the fund had “arrived too soon.” Despite this admission, Emond, who previously spent almost two decades at Scotiabank, said the fund's due diligence was “quite extensive with many experts and consultants involved.” He went on to say that they have written off the investment out of prudence.

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CDPQ made an investment of around CAD$200 million in the crypto lending firm last October, during a $400 million investment round it led with WestCap group. 

Celsius entered Chapter 11 proceedings in July, having halted withdrawals due to cascading market conditions and ensuing liquidity troubles in June. Law firm Kirkland & Ellis filed projections on Sunday that shows the lender could run out of funds by October. The firm also owes depositors $2.8 billion more in crypto than it's currently holding. 


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About Author

Adam Morgan is a reporter covering cryptocurrency, financial markets, and economics – anything from price movements, earnings reports, and inflation to the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decisions and everything in between. Adam is based in London.