Celsius Has Refunded $2.5 Billion to Two-Thirds of Its Creditors

• Celsius has repaid 251,000 creditors, with 121,000 left to go.
• So far, it has paid 93% of the funds it owed.

The defunct crypto company Celsius has refunded two-thirds of its users $2.5 billion. That amounted to 251,000 creditors receiving their trapped funds back, marking the disbursement of 93% of the repayment value of the total $3 billion it owes. About 121,000 creditors remain who are yet to claim their deposits.

An August 26 court filing called this process “the most complicated and ambitious distribution process ever attempted in a chapter 11 case.” The repayment occurred through liquid cryptocurrency, cash, and stocks of MiningCo, the company that emerged out of Celsius’ bankruptcy to creditors across 165 countries. “Celsius has creditors in so many different countries because its prepetition business model was focused on rapidly growing its platform and user base all over the world.”

Not All Celsius Creditors Want to Reclaim Their Funds

As two-thirds have claimed their repayments, the remainder may not be keen on acting to claim their deposits due to the amount they are owed. Out of the 121,000 creditors left to receive the funds, Celsius owes 64,000 creditors amounts below $100 and 41,000 creditors between $100 and $1,000. These individuals may lack the motivation to claim what is theirs.

Nevertheless, the bankruptcy estate is trying to get the funds to reach who they owe. “The Plan Administrator retries distributions through Coinbase typically every two weeks, and PayPal claim codes can be redeemed at any time once issued. Cash distributions are attempted approximately once per week,” the filing mentioned. “All in all, the Plan Administrator has attempted more than 2.7 million distributions in total […].”

Beyond the $3 billion it is paying back, Celsius also settled with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), paying $4.7 billion in fines. It also settled with other US agencies. The company paused withdrawals for its users in June 2022 and filed for bankruptcy the following month. Its CEO, Alex Mashinsky, is out on a $40 million bond and will face trial in September for financial fraud, market manipulation, and misleading investors.