Celsius Initiates Repayment Plan with $125M ETH Transfer to Exchanges

Crypto lending platform Celsius has embarked on a significant step toward repaying creditors by transferring over $125 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) to centralized exchanges. Between January 8 and January 12, Celsius executed transfers of $95.5 million to Coinbase and $29.7 million to FalconX, as reported by Arkham Intelligence.

This move follows Celsius's earlier decision to unstake 206,300 ETH, valued at $407 million, on January 5. The lender stated that these liberated ETH funds would be utilized to cover restructuring expenses and prepare for the repayment of creditors. Currently, Celsius still holds more than 550,000 ETH on its balance sheet, equivalent to an astounding $1.36 billion at the time of this publication.

While Celsius has outlined plans to repay creditors in its recovery strategy, no specific date has been specified for the initiation of fund distribution. Celsius creditors have been awaiting the release of funds locked on the platform for over 18 months since the company declared bankruptcy in July 2022.

Notably, other crypto entities facing financial challenges have also engaged in sizable cryptocurrency transfers. FTX and Alameda Research, both undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, recently moved $28 million worth of assets to exchanges. The transfers included $18.7 million in Wrapped Bitcoin, $8 million in Ether, and $1 million in Pendle (PENDLE), directed to Coinbase and Binance.

As FTX administrators successfully reclaimed approximately $7 billion in assets, with a substantial portion in cryptocurrency, there is optimism among creditors. Some FTX creditor claims reached values as high as $0.50 on the dollar in October 2022, indicating a reasonable chance for creditors to recover their investments. While there is no specific repayment date provided, the current plan estimates that FTX customers could begin receiving reimbursements later this year.