According to a report by Financial Times, EquitiesFirst, an institutional investment firm specializing in long-term asset-backed financing, is the mysterious borrower that owes Celsius an eye-popping $439 million.
In his recent court filing, CEO Alex Mashinsky referenced the debt owed by the firm without mentioning its name.
The Indianapolis-based specialist lender started lending Celsius money back in 2019. The company needed additional funds in order to finance, but it had very few available institutional lending options.
Two years later, EquitiesFirst failed to return Celsius' collateral, meaning that it turned into a borrower.
EquitiesFirst told Financial Times that both parties had agreed to extend their obligations.
Alex DovbnyaIt is worth noting that EquitiesFirst recently joined the U.S. bankruptcy proceedings for beleaguered hedge fund Three Arrows Capital before withdrawing in a matter of hours.
As reported by U.Today, Mashinsky recently acknowledged a $1.2 billion hole in the company's balance sheet, confirming earlier reports. Rumor had it that FTX had passed on acquiring the troubled lending firm because of the extremely poor state of its finances.
Earlier this week, Celsius finally filed for bankruptcy after suddenly halting withdrawals last week. One of the top names in cryptocurrency lending reached a valuation of $3.5 billion last year. The Florida-based company boasted more than 1.7 million customers.
Earlier this month, a new lawsuit, which alleges that Celsius was a blatant Ponzi scheme, was filed in New York.
Arman Shirinyan
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov