Celsius demands repayment of past liquidation positions from Tether, total amount could reach up to $3.5 billion

On August 9th, the cryptocurrency lending company Celsius, which has undergone bankruptcy restructuring in the past, filed a lawsuit against Tether Limited and its affiliated companies in the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court through the "Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium, LLC." They are seeking the return of approximately $2.4 billion worth of Bitcoin from Tether.

When Luna collapsed, Celsius was liquidated for over $800 million

These claims stem from an agreement in 2022 where Tether provided USDT to Celsius in the amount requested at that time. According to the agreement, Celsius provided Bitcoin (BTC) to Tether as collateral. As BTC prices started to decline from June 2022, the agreement required Celsius to provide additional collateral to prevent its BTC from being liquidated. When Celsius chose not to add more BTC, it instructed Tether to liquidate the BTC held as collateral to close out its position of approximately $815 million in Tether. In simple terms, the position that borrowed USDT against collateral in BTC was liquidated.

Claim amount could reach up to $3.5 billion, Tether: not responsible

In a press release, Tether responded that the liquidation of the position was done with Celsius' consent at that time. Celsius' lawsuit regarding the events before its bankruptcy is just an attempt to evade responsibility for its own mismanagement, which is entirely irresponsible.

According to legal documents, Celsius specifically claimed 39,542.42 BTC, approximately $815 million. However, on the twenty-eighth page of the document, Celsius requested three transfers in total. These were 15,658.21 BTC, 2,228.01 BTC, and 39,542.42 BTC. The sum of these three transfers is 57,428.64 BTC. As of August 10th, at a price of $60,627 per BTC, Celsius is seeking around $3.48 billion in Bitcoin. Additionally, the Celsius lawsuit also seeks no less than $100 million in damages, plus additional damages and legal fees to be determined at trial.