Celsius Sends $125 Million Worth of ETH to Crypto Exchanges
Blockchain firm Celsius has started to transfer massive ETH reserves to centralized trading platforms. The main reason for this transfer is a way for the platforms to repay debts owed to creditors. As per reports, Celsius has transferred $125 million in ETH to cryptocurrency exchanges during the past few weeks.
The firm reportedly transported the aforementioned amount of ETH in multiple installments between 8th and 12th January. The firm sent $95.5 million in ETH to Coinbase and $29.7 million to FalconX based on data projections from Arkham Intelligence.
Celsius is now in possession of 550K ETH on the balance sheet which is valued at $1.36 billion. During the ongoing month on the 5th, the firm unlocked 206,300 worth of ETH out of staking positions that were valued at $407 million.
The lending firm noticed that the liberated ETH is going to be utilized to cover costs during the restructuring process and for reimbursing the creditors. Celsius has also reported that it is working on distributing Bitcoin and Ethereum to settle outstanding payments as part of its recovery plans. The platform has not specified a deadline for issuing funds to the creditors.
Celsius Investors Demand Repayments
The creditors of Celsius have filed application to demand reimbursement for more than 18 months stuck on the platform. The creditors have not been able to recover or access their stuck funds since the firm filed for bankruptcy in July 2022.
However, Celsius is not the only blockchain firm that has moved to transfer massive amounts of crypto holdings to exchanges. FTX and Alameda Research reportedly transferred digital assets valued in $28 million to regulated trading platforms as per Spot on-chain metrics.
This transfer is also inclusive of $18.7 million in wrapped Bitcoin, $8 million in Ethereum, and $1 million in Pendle to exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase. FTX has been organizing fundraising events in order to repay creditors since filing for bankruptcy in November 2022.
The administrators overseeing the FTX bankruptcy restructuring plan were able to reclaim $7 billion in digital assets. FTX creditors received an acquisition offer at $0.50 on the dollar in October 2023 as a way to recover their investment losses. However, there is no date fixed for FTX consumers to receive repayment, and the restructuring plan projects that it will be done sometime in 2024.
Celsius CEO Wants to Dismiss Two Court Charges
Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius may face 7 counts of felony violations during his next trial in September 2024. On this account, the executive has submitted a motion at the federal court asking the judge to drop charges against him namely commodity fraud and market manipulation.
In a 12th January filing, defense lawyers filed the motion to dismiss two charges against Mashinsky at the Southern District Court of New York.
The filing has noted that the prosecution has added the first count backed by securities law violation while the second count is based on commodities law breach. The defense pointed out the duality of accusation pertaining to the Earn Program of Celsius with the treatment of the crypto sales as both a security and a commodity.
At the same time, the defense has also raised questions regarding the invocation of a criminal offense for a civil violation in the matter of market manipulation accusations.
