According to TechFlow, on August 10, Tether released a statement on its official website, saying that it would defend the lawsuit filed by Celsius Network Limited. Celsius sued Tether and some of its affiliates in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York through Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium, LLC. Tether pointed out that the lawsuit was baseless and intended to improperly impose the costs of Celsius' mismanagement and failure on Tether.

The lawsuit stems from a 2022 agreement under which Tether provided Celsius with the required amount of USD₮, and Celsius provided Bitcoin (BTC) as collateral to Tether. As the price of BTC fell in June 2022, the agreement required Celsius to increase collateral to avoid liquidation of BTC. However, Celsius chose not to increase collateral and instructed Tether to liquidate its BTC holdings to close out a position of approximately 815 million USD₮.

Tether stressed that the lawsuit disregards the clear validity of the agreement and seeks to improperly demand the return of approximately $2.4 billion in BTC years after Celsius went bankrupt, even though the BTC was liquidated at Celsius’ direction and consent. Tether said the lawsuit is based on a clear misapplication of the law, ignores Tether’s multiple defenses to the allegations, and raises significant jurisdictional issues.

Tether reiterated that it will firmly oppose this unfounded lawsuit and looks forward to winning in court. In addition, Tether emphasized that its sound financial management has enabled its consolidated equity to approach $12 billion on June 30, 2024, and stated that even if the lawsuit is established, it will not affect Tether token holders. Tether promises to continue to maintain its profitability, with increasing profits every month, to ensure the continued stable development of its business.