Celsius creditors to receive payouts by early 2024
Crypto lender Celsius has received approval for its reorganization plan from a bankruptcy court, marking its exit from bankruptcy. The process is expected to be completed by early 2024.
The approval comes after Celsius made a $4.7 billion settlement with U.S. authorities over fraud allegations.
The reorganization plan, confirmed by Chief Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court, involves returning 67%-85% of holdings to creditors. Customers with funds tied up in Celsius will receive about $0.25 per CEL token. The latter, a utility token whose value was tied to the functionalities offered on the Celsius Network, was at the center of the firm’s business model.
The implementation of the plan will be overseen by Fahrenheit Holdings, a group that includes Arrington Capital and U.S. Bitcoin Corp. Fahrenheit Holdings had previously won the bid to acquire Celsius Network when it was declared insolvent in May 2023.
The plan outlines the creation of a new company, currently referred to as NewCo in legal filings, which is standard practice for naming corporate spinoffs before they receive their final designation. This new entity, based in Delaware, will concentrate on activities like mining and staking, signaling a strategic shift in business focus for the restructured firm.
The proposed plan received overwhelming support from creditors, with over 98% of votes in favor across most of the bankruptcy claim classes. According to the terms of the deal, individual custody account holders would receive their assets in two distributions. The first tranche would be distributed upfront, and the second installment is set to be paid by the end of the year upon plan resolution.
Creditors of Celsius expect varying returns in the form of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), ranging from 67% for Earn Account holders to 85.6% for participants in Celsius’ Earn Program. This stands in contrast to the alternative option of asset liquidation, which would result in a lower recovery of around 47%, as outlined in court documents.
As reported by Bloomberg, the projected worth of the asset distribution hovers around a substantial $2 billion. Judge Glenn, not content with mere approval, further instructed Celsius to offer a straightforward explanation of the settlement terms. Furthermore, Celsius has been asked to provide detailed information surrounding the inherent volatility of cryptocurrencies and the possible hurdles that its mining operations might face.
Participation in the settlement is essentially automatic for Celsius’ customers, with the opt-out option available for those who wish to abstain. Legal representative for Celsius, Chris Koenig, said that disbursements could potentially kickstart before the year’s conclusion.
