Celsius replaces legal team, pays $20 million in debt to Aave

Cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius has reportedly hired lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis LLP to advise on its restructuring plan. The law firm had assisted Voyager Digital in its bankruptcy filing last week.

The company has hired lawyers to advise on various options, including filing for bankruptcy, replacing the previously hired law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, The Wall Street Journal reported on July 10.

Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an international law firm serving clients in private equity, mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions.

Days after Voyager Digital suspended trading, withdrawals and deposits due to liquidity issues, the law firm filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York on July 5 and was appointed general bankruptcy counsel to the company.

Despite ongoing concerns that the crypto lender could follow a similar path to Voyager Digital, Celsius has continued to gradually reduce debt on decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols, having just paid Aave $20 million in USDC.

Blockchain analytics firm Peckshield shared a screenshot of a $20 million transfer from the Celsius wallet to Aave Protocol V2 on Twitter.

Source: PeckShieldAlert Twitter

Defi tracking platform Zapper shows that Celsius still owes Aave about $130 million in USDC and $82,500 in Ren (Ren), and $85.2 million in Dai (Dai), for a total debt of $215 million.

Last week, the lending platform repaid the remaining $41.2 million in Maker protocol debt on July 7, releasing more than $500 million in wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) collateral.

Paying down debt has long been seen as a good thing for Celsius savers. They have been unable to access their crypto funds since withdrawals were halted on June 13, fearing that their funds would be lost if the company went bankrupt.

Last week, cryptocurrency lawyer Joni Pirovich told Cointelegraph that Celsius’s repayment of its loan positions will ultimately help its clients, as it will free up funds that can be used to satisfy clients’ withdrawal requests.

Pirovich added that even if Celsius files for bankruptcy, repaying the loan and withdrawing collateral could improve the situation for its customers.