Key Takeaways:
- Celsius replaces Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP with Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
- Celsius Network has paid off its debt of 20M in USDC to Aave.
- CEL plunges around 15% today.
LAGOS (CoinChapter.com) — Cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network has hired new advisers to mitigate the blockchain platform on options, including a possible bankruptcy filing.
In detail, Wall Street Journal report disclosed that Celsius Network LLC hired new lawyers for restructuring advice as it attempts to find solutions to the recent financial fallout from the downtrend experienced across the crypto space.
Celsius onboarded new lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis LLP to replace those from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Recall that in the wake of halting operations in June, Celsius had hired lawyers from Akin Gump for restructuring purposes.
Valued at $3.5 billion, Celsius was among the companies hit hard by the recent market collapse. Due to extreme market conditions, the crypto lender had to halt all swaps, transfers, and withdrawals between accounts.
Although Celsius has not filed for bankruptcy, recent indications point that the embattled lender might suffer the same fate as other giants like Three Arrows Capital or Voyager Digital. The network is already laying off a quarter of its workforce, among other moves to cut costs.
It is also worth noting that Celsius Network isn’t the only crypto platform working with Kirkland & Ellis. The law firm has also been tapped as general bankruptcy counsel for Voyager Digital in its bankruptcy proceedings.
Moreover, Voyager filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District Court of New York on July 5. Interestingly, this comes days after it also paused trading, withdrawals, and deposits on liquidity issues.
Celsius Network Is Paying Off Debts
Despite the turbulence plaguing Celsius Network, the blockchain platform is making moves to survive the cryptocurrency winter. Celsius, as part of its move towards recovery, is paying off its debts to decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols.
Data from blockchain analytics firm Peckshield indicates that the network paid off 20 million USDC to Aave. Details of the transaction revealed that the transaction took place on Sunday, July 10.
Similarly, Celsius paid off its remaining $41.2 million debt to Maker protocol last week. However, despite the debt repayment Celsius Network is still saddled with a total debt of $215 million.
Data from Defi tracking platform Zapper indicates that Celsius still owes $85.2 million in Dai (DAI) to the Compound protocol. Additionally, the lending network owes roughly $130 million in USDC and $82,500 in Ren (REN) to Aave.
Celsius’s CEL Plunges 15%
Meanwhile, news of Celsius Network hiring new lawyers or debt repayment did not positively impact the lending protocol as its native token plummeted significantly on the day.
CEL, the platform’s native token, declined by almost 15% in the last 24 hours to trade as low as $0.77. Coingecko revealed that CEL lost roughly 14% of its value in the 7 days. The token, which traded at over $4 at the beginning of the year, now has a value of around seven cents.
Additionally, CEL dropped 90% from its all-time high of $8.05 last year, and its market cap plunged to $330 million. CEL currently has a 24-hour trading volume of $7.5 million with a circulating supply of 420 million CEL coins and a total supply of 693 million.
