Shalini Nagarajan

<div id="highlights-block_633d4702d9cea" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Group tax director Lior Koren reportedly replaces Celsius&#8217; chief strategy officer</li>
 <li>Mashinsky’s resignation came after a committee believed his retention was “unacceptable”</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Insolvent crypto lender Celsius has lost another of its top executives about a week after co-founder Alex Mashinsky stepped down as CEO.



Shlomi Daniel Leon, co-founder and chief strategy officer at the firm, called it quits this week, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/04/celsius-strategy-chief-s-daniel-leon-is-leaving-company-sources-say.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> Tuesday, citing an internal memo.&nbsp;



Leon will reportedly be replaced by Israel-based Lior Koren, group tax director at Celsius. Koren has worked at the firm for just over 18 months, according to his <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lior-koren-71338035/?originalSubdomain=il" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LinkedIn</a>. 



Mashinsky’s resignation took place after a committee representing Celsius’ unsecured creditors <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-chief-pressured-by-creditors-as-ftx-eyes-assets/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">called for his removal</a>. They found that retaining him as CEO was “unacceptable” and that new leadership was vital, a court filing revealed. 



Hoboken, New Jersey-based Celsius <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-to-file-for-bankruptcy-imminently-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed for bankruptcy</a> on July 13, moving to restructure the business after being forced to <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-lending-platform-suspends-withdrawals-and-transfers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">freeze withdrawals</a> on its platform.&nbsp;



Since then, the creditors’ committee has investigated Mashinsky and other insiders for their business decisions and whether they were aware of Celsius’ impending downfall.&nbsp;



It isn’t clear yet whether Leon’s resignation is linked to the same investigation. Celsius didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time.&nbsp;



The platform&#8217;s native token, CEL, collapsed more than 85% between May and mid-June, from around $2 to $0.283, as its liquidity issues came to light. CEL has since rebounded more than 350%, now trading for $1.34.



A <a href="https://cases.stretto.com/public/x191/11749/PLEADINGS/1174909052280000000003.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">court filing</a> from Sept. 5 shows Leon owns 32,600 shares of Celsius’ common stock.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Celsius co-founder exits less than two weeks before asset auction</h3>



Celsius user Tiffany Fong had earlier <a href="https://twitter.com/TiffanyFong_/status/1577328616790233089" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> about co-founder Leon leaving. Fong previously shared a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-banks-on-future-with-new-name-kelvin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">leaked recording</a> of an all-hands meeting where Mashinsky outlined plans for the lender’s comeback.&nbsp;



Much has been speculated about the financial behavior of the top executives. The Financial Times reported on Sunday that Mashinsky <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-founder-withdrew-10m-before-freeze-to-pay-taxes-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">withdrew $10 million</a> from Celsius just weeks before customer funds were frozen.&nbsp;



Details about insider transactions will soon be submitted in court as part of the lender’s financial disclosures. The next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6.&nbsp;



Celsius is currently accepting bids for its assets, with a final bid deadline set for Oct. 17. A sale hearing will be held on Nov, 1, a <a href="https://cases.stretto.com/public/x191/11749/PLEADINGS/1174910042280000000007.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filing</a> shows.



Fellow bankrupt lender Voyager auctioned its remaining assets last month, with Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX US securing the winning bid worth $1.422 billion.



<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-27/crypto-billionaire-bankman-fried-eyeing-bid-for-celsius-assets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reports</a> indicate Bankman-Fried is ready to do the same with Celsius. The crypto billionaire <a href="https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX/status/1576619657561133058" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> Sunday that his goal in buying up lenders’ assets is to pay fair market prices, with a mind to make users as whole as possible.



“If we were to get involved in Celsius, it would be the same,” Bankman-Fried wrote.



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Celsius Co-founder Dan Leon Resigns After Mashinsky’s Exit

<div id="highlights-block_6329b41af47b8" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>After successful repayment, Voyager will return Alameda&#8217;s collateral worth some $160 million</li>
 <li>The bankrupt lender is set to announce sale of its assets to the highest bidder on Sept. 29</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Quant trading firm Alameda Research is set to repay Voyager Digital loans worth almost $200 million, as the crypto lender makes its way through bankruptcy proceedings.



A <a href="https://cases.stretto.com/public/x193/11753/PLEADINGS/1175309202280000000002.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">court filing</a> from Monday shows Alameda, founded by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, will pay back 6,553.42 BTC ($125.4 million) and 51,204.38 ETH ($69.1 million) in principal and loan fees, on top of smaller sums in other tokens including dogecoin, USDC, luna classic, and Voyager&#8217;s native asset VGX.



The payments are due on Sept. 30 at 5 pm ET. Voyager will return the collateral for loans that Alameda had pledged in the amount of 4,650,000 FTX tokens ($110.1 million) and 63,750,000 serum tokens ($49.1 million) if the payments are on time.



If Alameda is unable to meet its deadline, the bitcoin instalments will increase by 1.07 BTC ($20,500) per day, while the ether segments will increase by 9.59 ETH ($13,000) per day, the filing said.



Shortly before Alameda’s filing on Monday, Voyager Digital <a href="https://cases.stretto.com/public/x193/11753/PLEADINGS/1175309202280000000001.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asked</a> a federal bankruptcy court for an order to unwind the trading firm’s outstanding loans and return the collateral. 



When Voyager <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/voyager-files-for-bankruptcy-days-after-freezing-withdrawals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed</a> for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early July, Alameda owed the lender <a href="https://cases.stretto.com/public/x193/11753/PLEADINGS/1175307062280000000036.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$377 million</a> in loans, which were denominated in raw tokens rather than US dollars. The value of Alameda&#8217;s loans have almost halved since then.



Two days later, Alameda <a href="https://twitter.com/AlamedaResearch/status/1545244404910239744">tweeted</a> that it was “happy to return the Voyager loan and get our collateral back whenever works for Voyager.” It had also <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/voyager-to-borrow-500m-from-alameda-amid-insolvency-rumors/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lent Voyager $500 million</a> to mitigate the tough market environment. 



The designated wallet addresses for the payoff amounts and the return of collateral were redacted in Alameda’s filing. Making Voyager’s wallet addresses public would affect its restructuring efforts by allowing open access to commercially sensitive financial information, the lender said.



Voyager is now in the process of <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/voyager-to-liquidate-assets-at-auction/">liquidating</a> its remaining assets. After receiving multiple bids, the final results will be announced in court on Sept. 29 at 2 pm ET. According to <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/09/15/ftx-is-in-the-lead-to-buy-crypto-lender-voyager-digitals-assets-out-of-bankruptcy-source/">CoinDesk</a>, FTX is in the lead to snap up its distressed assets.



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