Overview

• Tether’s $299.5 million payment resolves the adversary proceeding filed in August 2024 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, with CEO Paolo Ardoino confirming the deal.
• The lawsuit alleged Tether improperly liquidated roughly 39,500 BTC before Celsius’s July 2022 collapse in breach of a 10-hour notice provision, claims Tether denied while calling the case a shakedown.
• Chief Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn allowed most of Celsius’s claims to move forward in July 2025 after rejecting Tether’s bid to dismiss the case.
• BRIC, formed by GXD Labs and VanEck and appointed in January 2024 to manage asset recovery, led negotiations and said it will continue managing Celsius’s illiquid and litigation assets for creditor recoveries.
• The settlement is far below the approximately $4.3–$4.5 billion originally sought, yet it closes one of the estate’s largest disputes and adds real funds for distribution to creditors as the wind-down continues.