Nearly a month after freezing user withdrawals and transfers, the cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius has finally paid off the decentralized lending protocol Maker’s loan and recovered 21,962 WBTC of collateral, which means that Celsius, which is in financial distress, is expected to receive Improved liquidity.
On June 12 this year, Celsius suddenly announced the suspension of user withdrawal, currency exchange and transfer functions, citing “extreme market conditions”, and then began to spread the news of insolvency, deep liquidity crisis and even on the verge of bankruptcy. Celsius said in a blog post last week that the company will stabilize liquidity and operations as soon as possible, and will continue to take measures to protect assets, while exploring options such as restructuring liabilities and seeking strategic deals.
On-chain data shows that Celsius repaid the remaining $41.2 million loan to the Maker Protocol on July 7, prompting the Maker Protocol to release the loan’s collateral — 21,962 WBTC worth $448 million.
About a few hours later, Celsius deposited another $500 million in WBTC with cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and according to blockchain data firm Nansen , Celsius-related wallets sent a total of 24,463 WBTC to FTX.
The move suggests that Celsius may be looking to sell the WBTC for a more liquid asset. In this regard, Fundstrat analyst Walter Teng also said that the collateral released by Celsius “can be sold on centralized exchanges or through OTC transactions to meet the needs of creditors and withdrawals by customers.”
On the surface, while repaying the loan might seem like good news for Celsius itself, if the company dumped such a large amount at once, it could also lead to a spike in market volatility.
