Celsius Network, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency lenders, has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Techcrunch reported that this is coming a month after freezing customer assets in the wake of sharp turbulence in the crypto market that has toppled the business models of several firms.
The New Jersey-headquartered startup, which was valued at $3.25 billion when it extended its “oversubscribed” Series B financing round to $750 million in November, said in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in federal court in New York that it had anywhere between $1 billion and $10 billion in assets and liabilities and more than 100,000 creditors.
The “necessary” decision to file for bankruptcy would provide the firm an “opportunity to stabilise its business,” it said.
“We have a strong and experienced team in place to lead Celsius through this process,” wrote Alex Mashinsky, co-founder and chief executive of Celsius, in a statement. “I am confident that when we look back at the history of Celsius, we will see this as a defining moment, where acting with resolve and confidence served the community and strengthened the future of the company.”
