The story with Celsius, which began back in 2022, has finally received an update. Tether will pay $299.5 million as part of settling old claims. The amount will cover only a small part of the lawsuit, which was initially estimated at almost $4 billion. But for the market, something else is more important — the precedent.
The claims by Celsius concerned the liquidation of bitcoin-backed collateral for loans in USDT. According to the plaintiffs, Tether sold the assets at a critical moment — precisely when the price of BTC approached the debt amount. This, Celsius believes, finally destroyed their position and accelerated the collapse.
The final agreement was announced on Tuesday by the BRIC consortium — created by VanEck and GXD Labs. Since early 2023, it has been engaged in asset recovery for creditors of bankrupt crypto platforms. In the Celsius case, BRIC received the status of manager and representative of the interests of uninsured creditors back in January 2024.
Earlier in court, Celsius tried to prove that Tether‘s actions were not just a technical operation, but direct market intervention. The lawsuit was filed in August 2024, and in July 2025 the court allowed the process to proceed. Whether the deal will affect the main case is still unclear.
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The deal could be a worrying signal for stablecoin issuers: when they act as counterparties in an unstable market, legal risks increase. This may change the approach of regulators and courts to companies like Tether, especially in bankruptcy cases.
Previously, issuers like Tether maintained the position that their role was only technical: issuing and redeeming tokens. They did not acknowledge responsibility for the use of these assets on exchanges, in DeFi, or through lending services.
One of the darkest episodes in the crypto industry
The bankruptcy of Celsius became part of a chain reaction of failures in the crypto market in 2022. It was this wave that triggered the prolonged bear cycle, culminating in the collapse of FTX at the end of the same year.
The consequences were especially severe for former Celsius head Alex Mashinsky. In June, he gave up any rights to the company’s assets, and later received 12 years in prison on two criminal counts. Mashinsky began serving his sentence in September.
Celsius was not the only one. In the same year, other major crypto lenders such as BlockFi and Voyager Digital also filed for bankruptcy. In 2023, Genesis Global Capital joined them.
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According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, from May to November 2022, users withdrew about $13 billion from crypto platforms. The reason was a massive loss of trust in the entire industry.
“High-yield products became the main magnet for investors,” analysts note.
In some cases, platforms promised more than 17% per annum — this attracted clients during the bull period, but proved unacceptable when the market turned negative.
