Celsius Network, one of the largest cryptocurrency lenders to date, paused user accounts reportedly due to extreme “extreme market conditions.”
The crypto lender has now hired restructuring attorneys from the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP to advise and brainstorm how to solve the company’s recent financial problems.
Earlier last week, Celsius told users that they would be pausing withdraws on the platform, along with user transfers and swaps because of volatile market conditions.
Along with hiring these attorneys to help navigate the company through this period, Celsius is also seeking financial life-preservers from investors.
Celsius lends out customer deposits to other users to earn a return. The company managed $11.8 billion in assets as of May 17, according to its website. It offers users annual percentage yields of up to 18.63% on cryptocurrency deposits. The company said it has 1.7 million users.
A spokeswoman for Akin Gump had no immediate comment. Celsius executives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lawmakers have recently been turning their attention to what could happen if a cryptocurrency platform fails. A bipartisan duo of senators last week proposed a law that would aim to protect investors in the event that a crypto exchange files for bankruptcy by ensuring that their digital assets would be held separate.
