Cody McGrath 
Celsius is still paying off its debts to decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols. It just sent 20 million USDC to Aave to settle its debt to them.
Celsius has hired Kirkland & Ellis LLP lawyers to advise on its restructuring alternatives – the same company that supported Voyager Digital with its bankruptcy filing last week.
According to a July 10 Wall Street Journal report, the corporation has engaged lawyers to advise on options, including bankruptcy, in place of the previously appointed legal firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP, founded in 1909, touts itself as an international legal company that services clients in private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate transactions.
The law firm has also been appointed as general bankruptcy counsel for Voyager Digital in its bankruptcy proceedings, which were filed in the Southern District Court of New York on July 5, just days after the company paused trading, withdrawals, and deposits due to liquidity concerns.
Despite continuous concerns that the crypto lender will follow a similar path, Celsius has continued to pay off its loans to decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols, recently paying off $20 million in USD Coin (USDC) to Aave.
Peckshield, a blockchain analytics firm, picked up the newest loan repayment on Sunday, July 10, publishing an image of the 20 million USDC transfer from a Celsius wallet to Aave Protocol V2.
According to the defi tracking platform Zapper, Celsius still owes Aave roughly $130 million in USDC and $82,500 in Ren (REN), as well as $85.2 million in Dai (DAI) to the Compound protocol, for a total debt of $215 million.
On July 7, the lending platform paid off the remaining $41.2 million debt to the Maker protocol, freeing up over $500 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) collateral.
Paying down debt has been seen positively by Celsius’ depositors, who have been unable to access their crypto funds since withdrawals were suspended on June 13 and fear losing their funds if the company goes bankrupt.
Last week, crypto lawyer Joni Pirovich said that Celsius’ repayment of its loan position would benefit its clients in the long run since it would free up funds that could be utilized to meet customer withdrawal requests.
Pirovich went on to say that even if Celsius declares bankruptcy, repaying its loan position and withdrawing collateral could help its clients.