Celsius Network Cryptoland platform owed $439 million to private finance firm Equitesfirest. This is reported by the Financial Times, citing knowledgeable sources.

On Thursday, Celsius and some of its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy in New York court. According to the documents, as of July 13, the platform’s liabilities exceeded assets on the balance sheet by approximately $1.2 billion.

The petition also cites a “private lending platform” that Celsius used to finance its operations from September 2019 to February 2021. Cryptocurrency was the collateral for loans.

In July 2021, Celsius tried to repay one of its loans and return the collateral, but “failed to return the lender’s assets in a timely manner,” according to the documents. As a result, $509 million of unsecured debt was “hanged” on the platform.

Since September 2021, the platform has been gradually reducing the amount of debt. Current payments exceed $5 million per month. At the time of filing, Celsius owed $439 million – $361 million in fiat currency and 3,765 BTC.

The FT’s interlocutors said its “private lending platform” is Indianapolis-based EquitiesFirst. The latter was founded in 2002 by Alexander Christie and specializes in the issuance of loans secured by company shares.

“We are constantly negotiating with our client, both parties have agreed to extend our obligations,” the Equitesfirst representative told reporters.

Johnny Heng, Managing Director of Equitesfirst in Singapore, stated in an interview with Hubbis in April that the company began issuing loans secured with cryptocurrencies in 2016.

In July 2022, DeFi contractor Celsius KeyFi Inc. He sued the landing platform, accusing him of refusing to fulfill his contractual obligations.

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