Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius filed a lawsuit against USDT issuer Tether in 2024, demanding the return of $2.4 billion worth of Bitcoin at the time.
The dispute between Celsius and Tether stemmed from a 2022 agreement in which Tether provided USDT to Celsius, who sent Bitcoin (BTC) as collateral.
Celsius accused Tether of selling the collateralized BTC at a low price and before the set limit.
Tether, on the other hand, argued that Celsius was trying to shift the blame for its own financial mismanagement onto them by demanding the return of approximately $2.4 billion worth of BTC (the value at the time of the lawsuit), despite the liquidation being carried out at its direction and with its consent.
The contentious case ended with a settlement, with Celsius winning $300 million in its lawsuit against Tether. Tether then agreed to pay $299.5 million to the Celsius Network bankruptcy estate.
The payment represents about 7 % of the $4.3 billion Celsius initially sought and closes one of the final disputes in the company's three‑year bankruptcy process.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed the agreement in a post on X, saying, “Tether is pleased to have reached an agreement on all matters related to the Celsius bankruptcy.”
As you may recall, Celsius was one of the companies that went bankrupt in 2022, when many cryptocurrency platforms, from Voyager to 3AC, went bankrupt.
*This is not investment advice.