Celsius to unstake $470M Ethereum amid restructuring efforts, raising market concerns

Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius will unstake 206,300 Ethereum, worth around $470 million, as part of efforts to facilitate the distribution of assets to creditors, according to a Jan. 4 statement on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Celsius said the planned “significant” unstaking event will occur in the next few days and further revealed that its staked Ethereum holdings provided the failed company a “valuable staking rewards income” to offset certain costs incurred throughout its restructuring process.

Following the news, Nansen’s Ethereum Shanghai (Shapella) Upgrade dashboard shows that the lender wants to withdraw 206,300 ETH, or 32% of all ETH awaiting withdrawal, valued at nearly $470 million.

The dashboard further shows that the firm is among the top 10 firms that have withdrawn their staked ETH since withdrawals were enabled last year. Celsius has withdrawn a total of 40,249 ETH as of press time.

Additionally, Celsius’s decision has led to a notable surge in the Ethereum validator exit queue. According to data from beaconcha.in, the queue has spiked to over 16,000 today, a record high, and the waiting time has extended to approximately six days.

Meanwhile, the recent announcement signifies progress in Celsius’s restructuring journey and the imminent return of customers’ assets. The court has already approved a restructuring plan that could enable creditors to recover up to 79% of their holdings.

Nevertheless, criticisms have emerged due to the absence of a disclosed effective distribution date, with customers expressing weariness over continual preparation updates.

What does this mean for ETH price?

Crypto community members are concerned that Celsius’s move might increase the selling pressure on the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization.

Last December, CryptoSlate reported that the bankrupt lender sold $250 million of digital assets, including Ethereum, in 30 days. At the time, observers suggested that the firm was selling to capitalize MiningCo, a Bitcoin mining company that creditors of the failed firm would own.

However, Celsius said, “Eligible creditors will receive in-kind distributions of BTC and ETH as outlined in the approved Plan.”