• The native token of the now-defunct crypto lender Celsius Network, CEL Token, has a market value of 54 cents.
• Celsius’s attorneys are attempting to find a fair way to compensate CEL token holders without rewarding insiders who have enormous holdings.
• An attorney for Celsius said the company might value its CEL token at 20 cents during the recovery process.
Celsius’s CEL Token
The native token of the now-defunct crypto lender Celsius Network currently has a market value of 54 cents. The token once traded at an all-time-high of $8.02 – which regulators and Celsius’ independent examiner now say was the result of price manipulation meant to benefit insiders, including former CEO Alex Mashinsky.
Fair Value for CEL Token Holders
Lawyers for Celsius are trying to figure out how to compensate CEL token holders without rewarding insiders who have enormous CEL holdings. It is their intention that these insiders would not receive any recovery or distribution on account of their holdings in the CEL tokens. If they were to value CEL tokens at the price of petition date, it would take away value from other cryptocurrency holders’ recoveries as well.
Recovery Price Suggestion
An attorney for bankruptcy crypto lender Celsius Network said that they may value its CEL token at 20 cents during the recovery process, significantly down from its current market value of 54 cents. This suggestion did not sit well with some attending creditors who bought in at all time highs rather than 20 cents.
Price Manipulation Allegations
Regulators and Celsius’s independent examiner allege that the all-time high price was a result of price manipulation meant to benefit insiders such as former CEO Alex Mashinsky and other large stakeholders with enormous amounts in their holdings in terms of percentage ownership and absolute dollar amount held in comparison with retail investors who hold smaller amounts relative to larger holders..
Conclusion
Celsius’s attorneys are still wrestling with how best to compensate its creditors fairly while also not rewarding those responsible for manipulating prices or those holding large amounts relative to retail investors. A suggestion has been made that values its native token, the CEL Token, at 20 cents during the recovery process which is significantly lower than its current market value but this is yet to be finalized by higher authorities or courts involved in this case