Celsius repays $120 million stablecoin debt to Maker protocol

Quick Take

  • Celsius Network paid off another $120 million towards its Bitcoin loan on Maker in the last 24 hours.
  • After another $120 million repayment, its new liquidation price sits at $4,966.

Within the last 24 hours, Celsius repaid $120 million of its debt owed to decentralized lending protocol Maker across three transactions.

Celsius, a centralized lending firm currently facing a severe liquidity crisis, had previously borrowed hundreds of millions on Maker using wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) as collateral.

By paying down its Maker debt, Celsius has de-risked its loan position from potential liquidation. In decentralized finance, liquidations occur when traders cannot repay their loans on time, and the protocols automatically sell their collateralized assets.

Source: DeFiExplore

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As the price of bitcoin dropped recently, Celsius faced a heightened risk of liquidation. The repayment has helped reduce the liquidation price on its WBTC collateral to less than $5,000, according to data from DeFiExplore.

On-chain data suggests that Celsius’ obligations are complex and it maintains collateralized loans on multiple lending protocols. The firm still owes $82 million to Maker, $100 million to Compound, and $175 million to Aave.

Celsius’ recent developments are notable given questions about the platform’s solvency and broader fears about solvency across the crypto industry — particularly centralized lenders — amid a decline in major digital asset prices. Those concerns were kicked into overdrive when Celsius announced that it would halt withdrawals from its platform.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Vishal Chawla is The Block’s crypto ecosystems editor and has spent over six years covering tech protocols, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Vishal likes to delve deep into blockchain intricacies to ensure readers are well-informed about the continuously evolving crypto landscape. He is also a staunch advocate for rigorous security practices in the space. Before joining The Block, Vishal held positions at IDG ComputerWorld, CIO, and Crypto Briefing. He can be reached on Twitter at @vishal4c and via email at [email protected]