Bankrupted crypto lender Celsius Network reached two settlements that allows it to return assets to customers and end its bankruptcy proceedings, according to court filings on July 20.
The settlements will be analyzed by Judge Martin Glenn at a hearing on August 10 and address $78.2 billion in unsecured claims. Any responses and objections should be submitted to the court by August 3.
One of the agreements resolves claims over accusations of fraud and misrepresentation by Celsius management by increasing customers’ recoveries by 5%. Account holders can still retain rights to pursue individual claims against Celsius if they opt out of the settlement. As per the court documents:
“Any eligible Account Holder who does not opt out of the Settlement will receive a claim in the amount of 105% of their scheduled claim, which will supersede and extinguish any related Proofs of Claim filed by such Account Holder.”
The second settlement offers a resolution for customers with funds in Celsius’ interest-bearing Earn. Under the proposed agreement, customers who borrowed crypto funds will be able to receive a portion of their funds in crypto assets, along with a compensation in shares of the new company emerging from the bankruptcy proceedings.
Screenshot – Notice of Hearing on Joint Motion for Approving Settlements. Source: Stretto.
“[…] creditors have agreed to support an amended Plan that will provide Holders of Retail Borrower Deposit Claims with (a) the option to repay the their principal balance of their loan […] in exchange for an equivalent amount of cryptocurrency (which could lead to tax benefits for such Holders as compared to the Setoff Treatment) and (b) priority in electing a preference to exchange the NewCo Equity for Liquid Cryptocurrency at a 30% discount […],” reads the document.
Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July, 2022 after announcing a pause in all withdrawals amidst market turbulence stemming from the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. A year later on July 13, 2023, its former CEO, Alex Mashinsky, was arrested under criminal and civil charges of fraud and intention to manipulate the market. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Also on July 13, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Mashinsky and other Celsius executives for raising “billions of dollars” through unregistered and fraudulent offers, as well as selling “crypto asset securities.” The Federal Trade Commission also announced civil cases against the former CEO and issued $4.7 billion in fines to the lending platform for allegedly “squander[ing] billions in user deposits” after “duping” users.
Embedding human rights into crypto systems is a necessity. Self-custody, privacy-by-default, and censorship-resistant personhood must be core design principles for any technology. The future of digital freedom depends on it.
Labour will eliminate unauthorised sewage spillages in 10 years, the environment secretary has told Sky News.
Steve Reed also pledged to halve sewage pollution from water companies by 2030 as he announced £104 billion of private investment to help the government do that.
“Over a decade of national renewal, we’ll be able to eliminate unauthorised sewage spillages,” he said.
“But you have to have staging posts along the way, cutting it in half in five years is a dramatic improvement to the problem getting worse and worse and worse every single year.”
He said the water sector is “absolutely broken” and promised to rebuild it and reform it from “top to bottom”.
His earlier pledge to halve sewage pollution from water companies by 2030 is linked to 2024 levels.
The government said it is the first time ministers have set a clear target to reduce sewage pollution and is part of its efforts to respond to record sewage spills and rising water bills.
Ministers are also aiming to cut phosphorus – which causes harmful algae blooms – in half by 2028.
Image: Environment Secretary Steve Reed. File pic: PA
Mr Reed said families had watched rivers, coastlines and lakes “suffer from record levels of pollution”.
“My pledge to you: the government will halve sewage pollution from water companies by the end of the decade,” he added.
Addressing suggestions wealthier families would be charged more for their water, Mr Reed said there are already “social tariffs” and he does not think more needs to be done, as he pointed out there is help for those struggling to pay water bills.
The announcement comes ahead of the publication of the Independent Water Commission’s landmark review into the sector on Monday morning.
The commission was established by the UK and Welsh governments as part of their joint response to failures in the industry, but ministers have already said they’ll stop short of nationalising water companies.
Mr Reed said he is eagerly awaiting the report’s publication and said he would wait to see what author Sir John Cunliffe says about Ofwat, the water regulator, following suggestions the government is considering scrapping it.
On Friday, the Environment Agency published data which showed serious pollution incidents caused by water firms increased by 60% in England last year, compared with 2023.
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Why sewage outflows are discharging into rivers
Meanwhile, the watchdog has received a record £189m to support hundreds of enforcement officers for inspections and prosecutions.
“One of the largest infrastructure projects in England’s history will clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good,” Mr Reed said.
But the Conservatives have accused the Labour government of having so far “simply copied previous Conservative government policy”.
“Labour’s water plans must also include credible proposals to improve the water system’s resilience to droughts, without placing an additional burden on bill payers and taxpayers,” shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins added.
The Rivers Trust says sewage and wastewater discharges have taken place over the weekend, amid thunderstorms in parts of the UK.
Discharges take place to prevent the system from becoming overwhelmed, with storm overflows used to release extra wastewater and rainwater into rivers and seas.
Water company Southern Water said storm releases are part of the way sewage and drainage systems across the world protect homes, schools and hospitals from flooding.