After the pausing of withdrawals for one month, cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network LLC has hired new lawyers for restructuring advice as it navigates the financial fallout from the recent turmoil in crypto markets, according to Wall Street Journal.

Celsius brought on lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis LLP to advise on options including a bankruptcy filing, in place of the company’s prior lead restructuring counsel, the people familiar with the matter said.

As per a report published on July 10, the company has hired lawyers to advise on options, including a bankruptcy filing replacing the previously hired law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an international law firm that serves clients in private equity, M&A, and other corporate transactions.

The law firm has also worked as general bankruptcy counsel for Voyager Digital in its bankruptcy proceedings, which it filed in the Southern District Court of New York last Tuesday, days after pausing withdrawals, trading, and deposits on liquidity issues.

Despite ongoing concerns that the crypto lender may follow a similar path, the embattled platform has kept on wound down its debts to decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols, having just paid off $20 million USDC to Aave.

The recent loan repayment was picked up by blockchain analytics firm Peckshield on Sunday, sharing a screenshot of the 20 million USDC transfer from a Celsius wallet to Aave Protocol v2.

Celsius' paying down debt has been a relief for the firm’s depositors as they couldn’t access their crypto funds since withdrawals halted on June 13 in the fear of losing funds.

Joyashree Dey

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA