The ruling means holders of Celsius’s preferred equity will have to pay for their own lawyers and advisers during the bankruptcy. Venture capital firm WestCap Management LLC and pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ) are among the company’s stockholders.
Some Celsius stockholders are arguing that they, rather than the company’s customers, are entitled to the value from the crypto lender’s mining business and loan book because of Celsius’s corporate structure. Lawyers for Celsius creditors -- which are overwhelmingly its customers -- disagree.
In a written decision Monday, Judge Glenn said the stockholders hadn’t met the legal standard needed to have their advisers’ bills paid for by Celsius. The investors are already adequately represented and haven’t shown that they’ll probably recover money during the bankruptcy, he said.
The bankruptcy is Celsius Network LLC, 22-10964, US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
