Celsius pays down 143M in DAI loans since July 1
Celsius (CEL) has repaid a substantial amount of its outstanding debt to Maker (MKR) protocol since the beginning of the month, signaling that the troubled crypto lending platform was trying to stave off a complete collapse amid credible rumors of insolvency.
Since July 1, Celsius has repaid $142.8 million worth of Dai (DAI) stablecoins across four separate transactions, according to data from DeFi Explorer. The crypto lender still has $82 million in outstanding debt owed to Maker. Out of $1.8 billion in lifetime investments, the firm's losses currently stand at $667.2 million.
With the loan repayments, Celsius’ liquidation price on its Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) loan has dropped to $4,966.99 Bitcoin (BTC). The liquidation price reportedly fell by nearly half since Celsius posted a $64 million DAI payment on July 4, mere hours after it paid $50 million in DAI.
Will the Celsius community short squeeze work?
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) June 21, 2022Celsius is among several crypto blue-chip companies on the brink of insolvency after extreme market conditions triggered historic losses across multiple positions. The firm paused withdrawals in mid-June due to extreme market conditions and later brought on new legal counsel to advise on restructuring. Reports that United States mega-bank Goldman Sachs was looking to acquire Celsius’ assets soon surfaced.
Related: Crypto platform tells savers how it's different from Celsius Network
Despite liquidity issues and signs of an imminent collapse in its business, Celsius was reportedly still paying rewards as of last week. Although Celsius users were still receiving rewards, they were unable to withdraw them due to liquidity constraints.