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BnkToTheFuture unveils 3 proposals to rescue Celsius from oblivion

BnkToTheFuture's three proposals include two different ways to restructure and relaunch the firm, or an option to co-invest in the firm with a bunch of Bitcoin whales.

Celsius’ lead investor BnkToTheFuture has outlined three proposals to save Celsius from bankruptcy while finding a good outcome for shareholders and depositors with funds stuck on the platform.

Shared on Twitter by BnkToTheFuture CEO Simon Dixon on June 30, the three distinct proposals include either two options of restructuring and relaunching Celsius, or potentially co-investing in the platform alongside wealthy Bitcoin Whales.

Proposal #1: A restructuring to relaunch Celsius and allow depositors to benefit from any recovery through financial engineering.

Proposal #2: A pool of the most influential whales in Bitcoin to co-invest with the community.

Proposal #3: An operational plan that allows a new entity and team to rebuild and make depositors whole.” 

Dixon previously referred to “financial innovation” being needed to be applied to Celsius, similar to the issuance of equity debt tokens like in the case of Bitfinex in 2016, which were designed to represent $1 of debt per token.

“We believe all attempts should be made to make depositors whole in order to maintain shareholder value,” the team wrote, adding it will be calling for a shareholder meeting that “legally cannot be ignored by the Celsius board.”

“Bnk To The Future Capital SPC holds over 5% of Celsius shares and therefore we believe that this allows us to call a shareholder meeting as part of our statutory shareholder rights that legally cannot be ignored by the Celsius board.”

BnkToTheFuture also suggested that after first submitting these proposals to Celsius and its advisors, is it now looking to “apply pressure” to the firm after getting “worried that time was running out” with its lack of a distinct plan of action. These sentiments were also echoed by Dixon in a Digital Assets News Interview on the same day:

“You have to move really fast, because the longer you go on, the more FUD comes out, bad PR comes out, more predatory offers come out, the more the community stops believing in what they originally believed in.”

Celsius’ users have been unable to withdraw assets from the platform since June 13 amid the firm’s ongoing liquidity issues, and there are fears that users may never get their funds back if the company were to go bankrupt.

Celsius may have its own solution

In a blog post from July 1, Celsius stated that it is working as fast as it can to stabilize its liquidity problems so that it can be “positioned to share more information with the community.”

While the firm did not reveal much about what this entails, Celsius stated that it is exploring options to protect its assets such as pursuing strategic transactions as well as a restructuring of our liabilities, among other avenues.”

“These exhaustive explorations are complex and take time, but we want the community to know that our teams are working with experts from many different disciplines,” the blog post read.

FTX walked away from Celsius deal over bad financials

Related: Contagion: Genesis faces huge losses, BlockFi’s $1B loan, Celsius’s risky model

Reports surfaced on June 30 that Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX recently walked away from a deal to purchase Celsius after finding a $2 billion hole in the company’s finances.

According to two unnamed sources close to the matter, FTX had entered talks with Celsius to either provide financial support or acquire the firm outright, however apart from having $2 billion an account for Celsius was said to be difficult to deal with.

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Crypto community confused as Celsius continues with weekly rewards

Some Twitter users have called it “insulting” that Celsius continues to pay weekly rewards despite still pausing withdrawals.

Members of the crypto community on Twitter have been left bewildered by the beleaguered Celsius Network continuing to pay weekly rewards despite pausing withdrawals two weeks ago.

As previously reported, crypto lending platform Celsius paused withdrawals on June 13 after citing extreme market conditions amid the current bear market. Reports soon followed that the firm was undergoing liquidity issues and may be heading towards insolvency, potentially putting users’ funds at risk.

Figures such as Bitcoin (BTC) OG and CEO and co-founder of online investment platform BnkToTheFuture, Simon Dixon, tweeted his bewilderment to his 59,300 followers on June 27 over receiving nearly $4,000 worth of crypto rewards but being unable to withdraw them:

“Email on one of my accounts. Can’t withdraw but @CelsiusNetwork is still paying out. I’m curious if you think the rewards should still be coming? Thoughts?”

Upon searching “Celsius still paying” on Twitter, there are countless users raising questions over the lending platform, with some such as 'CryptoStylesUSA' calling it “insulting” that Celsius continues to pay weekly rewards while keeping their “crypto hostage.”

According to Celsius' website — which is currently undergoing revamp due to the liquidity issues — the company is still advertising annual percentage yields (APYs) of up to 18.63% on crypto deposits, which many have argued is unsustainable.

The SNX native token from decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Synthetix is the only asset this promotio offers at the time of writing. The top tier stablecoins have roughly a 9% APY listed, while Polkadot (DOT) and Polygon (MATIC) have offered APYs as high as 11.87% and 9.52% apiece.

Celsius also appears to be still offering 10% rewards on first deposits up to $250,000 despite not currently allowing users to withdraw from the platform.

While it is still uncertain what the exact fate of funds belonging to Celsius users will be, the firm reportedly onboarded advisers from a management consulting firm in advance of the company possibly facing bankruptcy. Celsius also hired lawyers on June 14 to help restructure the company amid its financial woes.

Related: 'Crypto is just like the end of the 90s with the internet bubble,' says Hodl CEO Maurice Mureau

On June 27, rumors started circulating that Celsius CEO Alex Mashinksy allegedly attempted to leave the country via Morrison Airport in New Jersey but was stopped by authorities. It appears the story originated from crypto analyst Mike Alfred, however, the firm has reportedly denied the accusations.

SEC asks updated spot Ethereum ETF filings from US exchanges: Report