The Celsius Network’s native token surged by over 300% a month after it initiated a $2.5 billion repayment scheme for more than 250,000 creditors.
A court filing on Aug. 26 showed that the bankrupt digital asset lender had repaid about $2.53 billion to 251,000 creditors. Cointelegraph Markets Pro data shows that the Celsius (CEL) token traded at $0.16 at the time.
On Sept. 23, the token’s price hit $0.65, a 300% price appreciation since Aug. 26. CEL traded at around $0.58 at the time of publication.
CEL 30-day price chart. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro
While the token’s price showed some recovery, it is still 1,287% down from its all-time high of $8.05 in June 2021.
Celsius distributes $2.5 billion to creditors
On Aug. 26, Celsius paid back approximately 84% of the assets owed to creditors, totaling $3 billion. While a majority of creditors are already paid, not all eligible for payment are looking to claim their digital assets because some of the amounts owed are small.
The filing said that of the remaining creditors who have yet to claim their crypto, 64,000 have less than $100 in assets to claim. Meanwhile, 41,000 are owed between $100 and $1,000 in crypto.
The filing said that the small amounts owed to many creditors may be why they have not claimed their funds. “They may not be incentivized to take the steps needed to successfully claim a distribution,” the filing wrote.
The bankruptcy administrator also said in the filing that it had already attempted more than 2.7 million distributions for eligible creditors.
Related: Is an ex-Celsius exec planning to attend Token2049?
Celsius bankruptcy saga sees ending
In July 2022, Celsius filed for bankruptcy. An email sent to its users said that the company filed petitions for Chapter 11 reorganization. The email came days after the platform hired lawyers specializing in bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy led to fines of up to $4.7 billion from the United States Federal Trade Commission. The company said it was pleased with the resolutions it reached with various regulatory agencies in the US.
The company’s former CEO, Alex Mashinsky, was also arrested by prosecutors and charged with financial fraud, misleading customers and manipulating the token’s price.
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