The native token of the Celsius Network experienced a remarkable increase of over 300% just a month after the company launched a $2.5 billion repayment program aimed at over 250,000 creditors.
A court document dated August 26 revealed that the bankrupt crypto lender had repaid approximately $2.53 billion to 251,000 creditors. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, the Celsius token (CEL) was trading at $0.16 at that time. By September 23, the token’s value surged to $0.65, marking a 300% increase since the court filing. At the time of this report, CEL was trading around $0.58.
CEL 30-day price chart. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro
Despite this significant recovery, the token remains substantially lower—1,287% down—from its peak of $8.05 in June 2021.
In terms of creditor repayments, as of August 26, Celsius had returned roughly 84% of the total assets owed, amounting to $3 billion. While most creditors have received their payments, not everyone eligible seems eager to claim their digital assets, especially since some amounts are relatively small.
The filing noted that out of the remaining creditors yet to claim their crypto, 64,000 are owed less than $100, while another 41,000 are owed between $100 and $1,000. This suggests that many creditors may lack the motivation to go through the necessary steps to claim their distributions. “They may not be incentivized to take the steps needed to successfully claim a distribution,” the filing stated. The bankruptcy administrator also mentioned that it had already attempted over 2.7 million distributions for eligible creditors.
In July 2022, Celsius initiated its bankruptcy process, sending an email to its users that announced the filing for Chapter 11 reorganization. This announcement followed closely after the company had engaged lawyers specialized in bankruptcy matters. The bankruptcy proceedings resulted in fines reaching as high as $4.7 billion from the United States Federal Trade Commission. Nevertheless, the company expressed satisfaction with the resolutions it reached with various regulatory bodies in the U.S.
The former CEO of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky, was arrested and charged with financial fraud, misleading customers, and manipulating the token’s price.
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