- Celsius has transferred ETH worth over a billion dollars to Coinbase, FalconX and Paxos.
- Earlier this month, the bankrupt crypto lender started “rebalancing assets” ahead of creditor repayments.
- Users have been able to withdraw funds held in Celsius Custody accounts since last year, but interest-bearing Earn accounts are subject to a different repayment plan.
Under its court-approved bankruptcy plan, Celsius started repaying users last year, but many creditors still haven’t received a single scent.
However, recent developments have sparked hopes that further payouts are imminent. Earlier this month, Celsius unlocked more than 200,000 staked ETH. Now, the bankrupt crypto lender has sent a billion dollars worth of crypto to various exchanges.
Celsius Wallet Transfers 460,000 ETH
Over the course of about an hour on Thursday, January 25, a Celsius wallet transferred around 460,000 ETH worth more than a billion dollars toCoinbase, Paxos and FalconX.
The largest recipient was a Coinbase Prime deposit address which received 297,000 ETH. alongside smaller denominations of USDC (<$100,000). A further 147,000 ETH was sent to Paxos and 7,800 ETH to FalconX.
According to Arkham Intelligence, known Celsius wallets still hold assets worth over $700 million.
Why Have Some Celsius Users Been Paid But Others Are Still Waiting?
In June 2022, Celsius suspended withdrawals for all users who held assets on the platform.
Throughout the ensuing bankruptcy proceedings, the court approved separate repayment types for different groups of Celsius users. Judge Martin Glenn deemed that certain funds held in non-interest-bearing Custody accounts belonged to the account holder.
The ruling only applied to deposits that weren’t commingled with other assets, and which hadn’t been transferred from an interest-bearing account in the 100 days before the the platform’s suspension. Withdrawals for this specific group opened up in March last year. The remaining Custody account assets were released in November, subject to the terms of Celsius’ settlement agreement.
However, Celsius users who had funds in interest-bearing Earn accounts are still waiting to recover their assets. According to Celsius’ bankruptcy plan, Earn creditors will receive payment in Bitcoin and Ether based on their account balance, when withdrawals were suspended.
Creditor Payments Incoming?
In a post on X earlier this month, Celsius said it had started “started the process of recalling and rebalancing assets to ensure ample liquidity.” Accordingly, the latest Ether transactions appear to suggest that more creditor payments are imminent.
Although Celsius hasn’t officially confirmed when it will begin distributing payments to Earn creditors, Ionic Digital, which emerged out of Celsius’ post-bankruptcy restructuring, has reported that disbursements are expected to start in mid-February. Eligible creditors will have a one-year window to withdraw their funds, the firm added.
