Celsius, a crypto lender undergoing bankruptcy and restructuring processes, has seen substantial activity in its wallets. Despite its ongoing situation, it has transferred nearly $900 million worth of ETH in the past week. Celsius is one of the largest firms with a staked ETH portfolio.
Transfer of ETH to smart contract
According to data from blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, Celsius transferred around $20 million of ETH to Wintermute OTC and Custody Withdrawals. Additionally, the crypto lender sent 30,800 ETH, worth around $57 million at current prices, to a smart contract called “Figment ETH2 Beacon Depositor 1.” The transfer to Figment, which is a non-custodial service, was one of the largest movements of funds for Celsius since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July.
Unstaking ETH from Lido
Arkham also observed that Celsius unstaked $779 million of ETH from the liquid staking derivatives protocol Lido, which allowed withdrawals on May 15 with a protocol upgrade to v2. Many entities that withdrew their staked ETH have already begun re-staking them since mid-April. Bitcoin pioneer and Celsius creditor Simon Dixon speculated that the withdrawn ether may be used as part of the platform’s restructuring and creditor repayment plans.
Reimbursement progress
Earlier this month, Celsius enabled eligible users to withdraw the remaining 6% of distributable custody assets following court approval. The same users, mostly those who only ever held funds in custody accounts, were limited to withdrawing up to 94% of their funds until January this year. This move was seen as progress for the now-defunct crypto lender, which froze user withdrawals last June due to the implosion of blockchain project Terra and the subsequent crypto market meltdown.
In conclusion, Celsius has been active in its wallet transfers during its bankruptcy and restructuring processes. With large movements of funds and unstaking from Lido, Celsius may be preparing for direct staking and to use the withdrawn ether for restructuring and creditor repayment. The reimbursement progress for eligible users is a positive sign for the platform’s future.