Celsius has emerged from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the United States and is poised to distribute $3 billion worth of crypto and cash to creditors. According to an announcement on January 31, Celsius’ bankruptcy exit involves the creation of Ionic Digital, a Bitcoin mining company managed by crypto mining firm Hut 8. The new company will be headed by Hut 8 Chief Commercial Officer Matt Prusak.
Celsius stated that Ionic Digital will “continue to deliver recoveries to creditors,” and its stock is expected to be publicly traded once the necessary approvals are obtained.
David Barse and Alan Carr, members of the board that guided Celsius through bankruptcy, expressed their satisfaction with the outcome. They stated: “Our exit from bankruptcy is the culmination of an extraordinary team effort and extensive collaboration between Celsius, Hut 8, strategic partners, and our creditors.”
Barse and Carr also said that while everyone assumed Celsius would disappear like other crypto lenders after filing bankruptcy, they “believed that Celsius could navigate complicated legal, regulatory, and business issues. Among other achievements, Celsius secured the cryptocurrency on our platform, achieved a settlement with the preferred shareholders, ran a successful auction of the one reorganizable operating business to begin as a new Bitcoin mining company, established a litigation trust to pursue the innumerable counterparties that exploited Celsius and, possibly most importantly, settled with the DOJ, SEC, and CFTC.”
Celsius also announced that it has increased the amount of crypto available for distribution to creditors by approximately $250 million through “converting altcoins to BTC or ETH and through previous settlements.” Celsius will now commence winding down its operations and discontinue its mobile and web applications.