Tether , the crypto company behind the USDT stablecoin, has paid $299.5 million in a lawsuit settlement with the Celsius Network bankruptcy estate, the Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC) announced on Oct. 14. BRIC is a joint venture between GXD Labs and VanEck.
Launched in 2017, Celsius was a crypto lending company headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey. Users could deposit cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum to the platform to earn yields or take out loans by pledging their crypto assets as security.
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The platform ran into trouble when it paused all transfers and withdrawals due to "extreme market conditions" in June 2022. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2022.
In August 2024, Celsius sued Tether for alleged misappropriation of assets, seeking $3.5 billion in BTC returns, damages, and legal fees. As per the lawsuit, Celsius transferred 39,542.42 BTC in collateral to Tether to secure a loan in USDT during its bankruptcy proceedings.
As BTC's price fell and as the two parties agreed, Celsius was required to provide further collateral to avoid liquidation. But Tether liquidated Bitcoin at a price that nearly covered the debt without giving it the opportunity to provide additional collateral, Celsius' suit claims.
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Tether finally reaches settlement with Celsius
Though Tether had called the suit "baseless," it has finally reached a settlement with Celsius. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed reaching a settlement of all issues related to the Celsius bankruptcy.
"We are pleased to have resolved Celsius's adversary proceeding and related claims against Tether," said GXD Labs Managing Partner David Proman. "In addition, we are pleased with the timeliness with which the settlement was achieved."
Tether is the world's leading stablecoin company. As reported earlier , Cathie Wood's ARK Invest and SoftBank are reportedly in talks to invest in a funding round at Tether.
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Oct 14, 2025, where it first appeared in the Bankruptcy News & Analysis section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
