Celsius changes lawyers to advise on bankruptcy filing
Crypto lending platform Celsius has reportedly hired lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis LLP to advise on its restructuring options — the same firm that assisted Voyager Digital with its insolvency filing last week. The tormented platform continues to wind down its debts to decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols, having just paid off 20 million USDC to Aave.
The Wall Street Journal on July 10 said the company has hired lawyers to advise on options, including a bankruptcy filing in place of the formerly hired law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP, founded in 1909 defines itself as an international law firm that serves clients in private equity, M&A, and other corporate transactions.
The law firm has also been appointed as general bankruptcy counsel for Voyager Digital in its bankruptcy proceedings, which it field in the Southern District Court of New York on July 5, days after pausing trading, withdrawals, and deposits on liquidity issues.
Despite ongoing concerns that the crypto lender may follow a similar path, Celsius has continued to wind down its debts to decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols, having just paid off 20 million in USD Coin (USDC) to Aave.
Blockchain analytics firm Peckshield shared a screenshot of the 20 million USDC transfer from a Celsius wallet to Aave Protocol V2 on Sunday, July 10, as the latest loan repayment.
Defi tracking platform Zapper demonstrates that Celsius has a loan of approximately $130 million in USDC and $82,500 in Ren (REN) to Aave, along with $85.2 million in Dai (DAI) to the Compound protocol, with a total debt of $215 million.
Last week, the lending platform paid off its remaining $41.2 million debt to Maker protocol on July 7, releasing more than $500 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) collateral.
Paying down debt has been seen as a positive for Celsius’ depositors, who have not been able to access their crypto funds since withdrawals halted on June 13 and fear a loss of their funds if the company were to go bankrup.
Crypto lawyer Joni Pirovich told Cointelegraph last week that Celsius’ repayment of its loan position would eventually assist its customers, as it would free up capital which could be used to meet customer withdrawal requests.
Pirovich further said that even if Celsius files for bankruptcy, repaying its loan position and withdrawing collateral could recover the situation of its customers.
