Celsius To Shell Out Some $5M on Independent Examiner

“If the examiner is going to meet the court’s deadlines, the pace of access to documents will need to be accelerated,” court filing says

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • The examiner filed a preliminary statement detailing her work plan going forward
  • The investigation report is due on Dec. 10, but she hasn’t received most of the data requested so far

Shoba Pillay, the court-appointed examiner in Celsius’ bankruptcy case, filed a work plan that estimates the total fees for her investigation will be somewhere between $3 million to $5 million.

Her first priority is to grasp the volume and extent of documents and data needed to be reviewed for the investigation, a Tuesday filing by the proposed counsel to the examiner shows.

Even after discussions with Celsius’ counsel and financial advisers, she has not yet received access to the requested documents needed for her work. But she expects to get it soon, as Celsius recently revealed a statement of financial affairs, the filing added.

Further meetings are expected to be held to allow Pillay to identify and gain any extra information needed for the completion of her report. She also expects to interview between 15 and 25 witnesses.

Because Pillay hasn’t received most of the data needed to assess the scope of her efforts, “any attempt to budget at this time is at best an educated guess,” it said.

Celsius is already racking up millions in expenses over its bankruptcy proceedings. Alvarez & Marsal North America, a financial adviser to the firm, asked to be paid $2.3 million (80% of the total compensation sought) for services rendered between July 14 and Aug. 31.

The crypto lender said in a tweet on Tuesday that it has filed a motion with the court to set a deadline for customers to submit proofs of claim. That motion is set to be heard on Nov. 1.

Celsius’ change in account offerings under examiner’s scanner

Pillay was appointed as the independent examiner on Sept. 29. Her responsibilities include investigating Celsius’ crypto holdings, including ascertaining where its cryptoassets were stored before and after bankruptcy and whether different types of accounts were commingled. 

She will also look a change in account offerings that started April 2022 from the Earn Program to the Custody Service for some customers, while others were placed in a “Withhold Account.” Her report is due on Dec. 10.

“If the examiner is going to meet the court’s deadlines, the pace of access to documents will need to be accelerated,” the filing said.

Her plan will be sent for approval and signature to Judge Martin Glenn on Oct. 21 at 12 pm ET. Any responses and objections can be sent by Oct. 18 at 4:00 pm ET.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

Bluefin possibly stands at an inflection point. The token is near an all-time low yet the protocol’s spot volume market share and derivatives exchange usage have been increasing month over month since its November launch. Given its current market position and the upcoming upgrades (for both Bluefin and SUI), there may be upside potential before the increased supply growth in December. However, strong opposition from existing competitors (like Cetus and Suilend), as well as new entrants (like Aftermath), pose key challenges to Bluefin’s medium-term success.

article-image

Top Committee Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her opening statement accused Atkins of “helping billionaire CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried”

article-image

Introducing garbled circuits for enhanced privacy and regulatory compliance

article-image

Ross Ulbricht was a freedom maximalist building freedom tech, powered by Bitcoin

article-image

Solana validators can reap benefits including payments, votes and community clout

article-image

Sponsored

WalletConnect is cementing itself as the essential connectivity layer, ensuring wallets remain the entry point for billions of users

article-image

According to a legal filing, Galaxy Digital helped boost the price of LUNA while quietly selling its tokens