Celsius, a crypto lending platform, managed to make a comeback after struggling hard for 18 months since July 2022. This good news was announced on January 31, 2024 at 18.00 WIB. According to David Barse and Alan Carr, members of Celsius' restructuring board, emerging from bankruptcy is the result of an extraordinary team of hard work. Successfully going through difficult times, Celsius is now standing tall again.
Apart from that, the company also took advantage of this opportunity to release Ionic Digital, a new entity in the world of Bitcoin mining. Celsius' reorganization and exit from bankruptcy proceedings received overwhelming support, with 98% of Celsius' creditors giving their blessing. Ionic Digital will later be owned by Celsius' creditors, while its mining operations will be managed by Hut 8 Corp. (Nasdaq). The company hopes that Ionic Digital will be publicly listed soon after obtaining the necessary approvals.
Celsius will distribute around $3 billion or around 42 trillion Rupiah to creditors as part of the recovery process. The company also increased the pool of digital assets it will distribute by around $250 million by converting them into Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). Further details regarding this distribution will be announced in the coming weeks in coordination with the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (UCC) and federal and state regulatory agencies.
Celsius stole the show in June 2022 when it suddenly stopped all withdrawals and had to file for bankruptcy. This bankruptcy forced them to pay a fine of $4.7 billion or the equivalent of 66.975 trillion Rupiah to the Federal Trade Commission and settle a number of cases with various agencies. Their former CEO, Alex Mashinsky, was even arrested and faced financial fraud charges. Currently, Celsius has decided to cease operations and will keep their online presence minimal.
On its recovery journey, Celsius has successfully overcome a number of challenges, providing new hope for their customers and claim holders. This recovery process also involved the founding of Ionic Digital to develop Bitcoin mining operations. Although Celsius has now emerged from the shadows of bankruptcy, its utility token, CEL, has seen a drastic decline of around 98% of its historical value and is still facing selling pressure. By 2024, Celsius plans to send more than $3 billion to its creditors, while reopening its operational doors in the crypto market.