Celsius seeks to extend deadline for customers to file claims

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Defunct digital asset lender Celsius Network is seeking to give its customers one more month to file claims for the debt they are owed, the company revealed recently.

Initially, Celsius had set the deadline to January 3. In its motion, which the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved last month, the lender noted that creditors who failed to file their claims risked missing out on the distribution of the funds in its custody.

However, it’s now seeking to extend the deadline by one month, it revealed on social media.

Celsius is preparing to file a motion later this week requesting an extension of the bar date, which is the deadline to file a claim, from January 3, 2023, until early February.

— Celsius (@CelsiusNetwork) December 29, 2022

“Our goal is to provide account holders with additional time to file any proofs of claim,” the company added.

The motion for the extension will be heard by the New York Bankruptcy Court on January 10, a week after the initial deadline date. However, for now, the deadline will be extended until the motion is heard.

Celsius has been one of the biggest casualties of this year’s digital asset industry contagion. The lender was already facing mounting regulatory scrutiny over its interest-bearing accounts. However, it was dealt a killer blow by the collapse of Terra’s LUNA and UST digital assets on which it had placed massive bets. It filed for bankruptcy protection in July.

Since then, legal battles have ensued as its customers seek to regain their funds. So far, the company has been adamant that it expressly owned all the digital assets in its Earn accounts, only offering to refund the $44 million in its custodial accounts.

Celsius assets have gone on auction, with a December 20 filing revealing that over 30 parties have expressed interest. Galaxy Digital (NASDAQ: BRPHF), the digital asset-focused financial services firm owned by Mike Novogratz, is among the big winners, scooping up the self-custody platform GK8. Celsius had purchased the platform for $115 million in November 2021, but sources say Galaxy purchased it at a steep discount.

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