Celsius Begins Creditor Distribution as Bankruptcy Proceedings Near End

The bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network has released its first status report on creditor distributions, revealing that affected parties have received over $2.53 billion in liquid crypto and cash.

According to a filing with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, the $2.53 billion in crypto and cash was distributed to more than 251,000 creditors at prices set on January 16, 2024. Celsius is in the process of repaying other creditors through their respective distribution agents.

Celsius Repays $2.53B to 251K Creditors

Following the approval of Celsius reorganization plan by a bankruptcy court and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year, the beleaguered crypto firm began distributions around January 31. The plan entailed the company distributing roughly $3 billion in cash, crypto, and shares of Mining NewCo, a Bitcoin mining and staking entity, which Celsius would transition into when bankruptcy proceedings are concluded.

Celsius said the assets were to be distributed to 375,000 creditors in over 165 countries. So far, two-thirds of all eligible creditors have received 93% of the value. The distribution process has progressed over time despite issues faced by creditors.

Some creditors have failed to complete certain procedures like opening PayPal or Coinbase accounts with matching dates of birth and e-mail addresses, hampering their crypto redemptions.

Others have overwhelmingly small claims and are not incentivized to move on with their redemptions. Out of the 121,000 creditors who have not received their distributions, around 64,000 have claims less than $100, while 41,000 have claims between $100 and $1,000.

Failed Redemptions and Re-Attempts

While creditor repayments continue, Celsius keeps resolving distribution-related issues like failed redemptions. The bankrupt estate retries distributions through Coinbase every two weeks, re-attempts cash distributions once a week, and ensures PayPal claim codes can be redeemed whenever after issuance.

Additionally, Celsius has reassigned creditors who have not been able to receive their repayments through their initially assigned Distribution Agents to new platforms. This means some creditors have been moved from PayPal to Coinbase, increasing the success rates of the distributions.

Since the distributions began, Celsius has attempted over 2.7 million distributions and 26 wire transfer cohorts for eligible creditors.