Celsius Network Sets Auction Date, Sale Hearing For Crypto Assets

Celsius Network had filed for bankruptcy following arguably the largest network collapse in the history of crypto. The lending platform had been caught in the crossfire, and further reports showed that it had a $1.2 billion hole in its balance sheet. The company, which has been going through bankruptcy proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, has now announced a final bid date for its assets.

Celsius Sets Deadline For Bids

Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network has reached the point in its bankruptcy proceedings where it begins to accept bids for its assets. Celsius announced that the final bid deadline for its asset was set for October 17th, after which no other bids would be considered. A sale hearing is also scheduled to happen on November 1st before the Chief US Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn via Zoom.

The bids for the company’s assets follow that of Voyager Digital, which just completed and accepted a bid from crypto exchange FTX to take over the firm’s assets for a total of $1.4 billion. Interestingly, FTX had also expressed interest in purchasing Celsius assets. However, the crypto exchange is yet to put in an official bid for the assets.

The filing also notes that an auction will be held on October 20th if it becomes necessary, and interest parties will have until October 25th to object to a sale before the final sale hearing. Presently, all eyes are on FTX, given the company’s streak of bailing out crypto companies since the collapse of the Terra network earlier in 2022.

CEL price holds up at $1.33 | Source: CELUSD on TradingView.com
When Will Investors Get Their Crypto?

The question that hangs heavy on the tongues of Celsius Network is when they will get their crypto currently stuck on the platform back. Bankruptcy proceedings of such large companies are often complicated and drawn out, so the natural answer to this is that users will be waiting for a while before they will be able to claim their crypto.

There is also the fact that the firm is yet to release a claims form that will allow users to claim their assets for their crypto value and not the dollar value. Celsius had announced that this would be forthcoming, but there has been no development so far on this front.

Back in September, Celsius had asked the court to allow it to open withdrawals for users who operated “Custody” accounts on the platform. However, the US Department of Justice (DOJ0 had countered this and also rejected Celsius’ motion to sell off all of its stablecoin holdings. 

US trustee William Harrington called this move by Celsius “premature,” and the DOJ objected, saying that a proper independent exam needs to be carried out as the firm’s finances have not been accurate. Bids are expected to start coming in for Celsius’ assets soon as the company expects a large number of participants.

Featured image from Watcher Guru, chart from TradingView.com

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