Celsius reportedly seeks advice from lawyers on restructuring

Crypto lending platform Celsius Network (CEL) has onboarded restructuring lawyers from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to find potential solutions to the firm's financial woes. 

The firm is reportedly looking for other strategic alternatives, such as a financial restructuring, apart from its attempts to solve its current problems. The report also noted that Celsius is trying to find investors who would be able to provide financing options for the crypto lending company.

Citing extreme market conditions, Celsius paused withdrawals from its platform on Monday. Amid the withdrawal freeze, the firm has unstaked around $247 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) from liquidity protocol Aave and sent it to the FTX exchange. Apart from its wBTC, the firm has also sent $74.5 million in Ether (ETH) to FTX.

As rumors of Celsius’ insolvency proliferate, crypto exchange Nexo has extended its hands to the lending platform. The crypto firm recently told Cointelegraph that the Nexo, along with its partners and affiliates, is able to acquire a part or all of Celsius' outstanding "collateralized loan receivables."

Related: Celsius (CEL) price gains 600%+, but analysts cite exchange error and a massive short squeeze

To quench holder fears amid the situation at Celsius, stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) has announced that the current events surrounding the lending platform have "no impact" on Tether's reserves. According to Tether, while they do have an investment in Celsius, it doesn't have an impact on the stability of its reserves. The announcement also highlighted that the situation at Celsius is a result of "market volatility."

Meanwhile, crypto exchange Binance has also paused BTC withdrawals on its platform on Monday, just as the Celsius pause started. However, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao assured holders that their funds were safe and the exchange will open withdrawals soon. On the same day, the crypto exchange resumed withdrawals.