US Judge Clears Path for Celsius Lawsuit Against Chainalysis

U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett rejected the majority of the 16 counts brought by the Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC), the litigation administrator for the bankrupt lender. Twelve claims were dismissed with prejudice, effectively barring them from being refiled, while three others were dismissed without prejudice, allowing for potential amendments by October 20.

The surviving claim centers on a December 2020 press release where Celsius touted $3.318 billion in assets, characterizing the figure as an audited total verified by Chainalysis Reactor software. Court filings allege that internal calculations initially placed the assets at roughly $1.177 billion before executives adjusted the methodology to include CEL token holdings. The complaint asserts that Chainalysis played an active role in drafting the release and knowingly approved the term "audit" despite lacking independent verification. Judge Garnett noted that at this stage of litigation, the court must accept these allegations as true, finding that the provided evidence suggests more than mere passive participation by the analytics firm.

Chainalysis sought to invoke the in pari delicto doctrine, arguing that Celsius itself benefited from the alleged misrepresentations and should therefore be precluded from recovering damages. However, the judge maintained that because the complaint alleges Celsius insiders acted primarily for their own benefit, the issue cannot be resolved through a motion to dismiss. The case will now proceed toward discovery, forcing Chainalysis to continue defending its role in the lender’s pre-collapse marketing efforts.