The insolvent bitcoin and crypto lender Celsius received approval from a New York judge to mine and sell bitcoin during its bankruptcy.
During the second day of the case hearing, judge Martin Glenn gave green light for Celsius to operate its bitcoin mining and selling operations to reinstate “financial stability”.
While Celsius is allowed to mine and sell bitcoin for cash, the company is barred from selling equity or debt investments in other bitcoin and crypto related companies.
Celsius specified that proceeds from bitcoin mining will be kept separate from the company’s cash management system. The request to operate a bitcoin mining operating during the bankruptcy proceedings was met with criticism and opposition at first.
Judge Martin Glenn expressed concerns that the bitcoin mining operation might not be profitable. And Shara Cornell said there wasn’t enough clarity around Celsius’ bitcoin mining plans to approve them.
Cornell stated:
“We have no understanding at this point in time what the debtors’ utility-related costs are for running these mining rigs.”
Despite the initial pushback, Celsius received approval to operate its mining business after it clarified it would only sell bitcoin for cash. Judge Martin Glenn was reluctant since getting Celsius’ mining operation fully functional would require additional investment.
But the Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge mentioned he would trust Celsius’ judgment and allow it to proceed.
During the latest report, Celsius owned 43,623 bitcoin mining rigs which collectively generate around 14.2 bitcoin per day. Looking at today’s price, that would amount to around $338,258 per day.
