- Tether has rigorously defended itself against Celsius’ lawsuit, calling it “baseless” and a “meritless shakedown”
- Celsius has alleged that Tether owes it the dollar value of nearly 40,000 BTC used as collateral for a 2022 loan
- Tether has accused Celsius of trying to shift the costs of its mismanagement onto Tether, claiming the lawsuit lacks validity
Tether has said it will rigorously defend itself against a lawsuit filed against it by Celsius, calling it “baseless” and defining it as a “shakedown.” The lending company alleges that Tether owes it the dollar value of almost 40,000 bitcoins it sent Tether as collateral for a loan in mid-2022, with Celsius clearly hoping to recoup every dollar it possibly can for its creditors. Tether accuses Celsius of trying to “impose the costs of Celsius’ mismanagement and failure” on the company and claims that their case has no validity whatsoever.
Celsius Wants $2.4 Billion
Tether revealed the lawsuit in a press release on Saturday, giving a brief history of the case from its perspective. According to the stablecoin giant, it lent Celsius an unspecified amount of Tether tokens (USDT), with Tether using 39,542.42 BTC in collateral. When the price of BTC started to drop in June 2022, Celsius was required to provide more BTC as collateral to avoid liquidation.
Celsius chose not to provide additional collateral and instead instructed Tether to liquidate the collateral BTC to settle the outstanding USD₮ loan. According to Tether, Celsius is now suing it, claiming that it should return the value of the BTC that was liquidated, despite it being done according to their agreement and with Celsius’ approval.
Tether to Fight “Meritless” Lawsuit
Tether was strong in its condemnation of Celsius’ actions:
The complaint is undermined by the actual facts underlying the agreement between Celsius and Tether, relies on an obvious misapplication of the law, ignores the numerous defenses that Tether has to the claims asserted against it and raises substantial jurisdictional questions. We look forward to responding in court to this contrived, meritless shakedown that will benefit nobody other than the lawyers, bankers and consultants involved in bringing this case.
The company added that it will “never fall prey to shameless litigation money grabs” and will “vigorously defend ourselves against the unwarranted allegations made against us.”
Celsius has yet to comment on its lawsuit.
