The insolvent cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network Ltd. is attempting to return coins to a small number of consumers who have been locked out of their accounts. For around $50 million in bitcoin that had been trapped on the platform in so-called custody accounts, which were created to store digital assets rather than earn returns, the business requested a US bankruptcy judge for permission to release the funds. According to court documents, a full hearing on the request is scheduled for October 6.
The move highlights a split among the many thousands of users burned by the company’s bankruptcy. Those who deposited crypto with the goal of earning interest on their holdings signed over their ownership of the coins to Celsius, according to the company, while those who only stored their assets on the platform technically retained title to the coins.
The roughly $50 million Celsius is seeking to return now is just a fraction of the more than $200 million trapped in custody accounts on the platform. That’s because many users shifted their holdings from interest-bearing accounts into custody arrangements shortly before the bankruptcy, which may allow Celsius to assert ownership over the coins, a lawyer for Celsius told US Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn in a Thursday hearing.
The custody accounts are also just a tiny slice of the crypto users haven’t recovered from Celsius. The market value of assets in so-called earn accounts totaled about $4.2 billion as of July 10, according to court papers.
The bankruptcy case is Celsius Network LLC, 22-10964, US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
