Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn dealt a blow to Celsius Network’s stockholders yesterday, ruling against their motion to form an official committee of equityholders as they seek to stake a claim to the crypto lender’s most valuable assets, Bloomberg News reported. The ruling means holders of Celsius’s preferred equity will have to pay for their own lawyers and advisers during the bankruptcy. Venture capital firm WestCap Management LLC and pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ) are among the company’s stockholders. Some Celsius stockholders are arguing that they, rather than the company’s customers, are entitled to the value from the crypto lender’s mining business and loan book because of Celsius’s corporate structure. Lawyers for Celsius creditors -- which are overwhelmingly its customers -- disagree. In a written decision issued yesterday, Judge Glenn said the stockholders hadn’t met the legal standard needed to have their advisers’ bills paid for by Celsius. The investors are already adequately represented and haven’t shown that they’ll probably recover money during the bankruptcy, he said.
