• Celsius, a cryptocurrency lending platform currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, requested for the funds held in its “Custody Program” and “Withhold Accounts” to be returned to customers.

• As of August 29, the digital assets in the Custody Program were worth around USD 210 million (comprising funds from over 58,000 customers) and the assets in the Withhold Accounts were USD 15 million (comprising funds from over 5,000 customers). The company requested for these accounts to be unfrozen and for the assets to be returned to the relevant customers on the grounds that those funds do not technically belong to the company.

• A hearing to discuss this proposal and potentially authorize it has been set for October 6 by the Southern District of New York’s Bankruptcy Court.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake : Celsius Network is one of the DeFi lending firms facing financial troubles during the current liquidity crisis in the DeFi space, along with BlockFi , which recently cut a deal with FTX that included a potential acquisition for USD 240 million and a USD 400 million line of revolving credit. Celsius filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in July following a suspension of customer withdrawals in June. Celsius has laid off a number of its employees and has paid off over USD 700 million in loans from Aave , MakerDAO , and Compound .</ul>