Bankrupt Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Core Scientific has objected to paying a $4.7 million administrative claim put forward by crypto lender Celsius Network, leading to a battle between the firms over contractual obligations.
According to the objection, which was filed in Texas bankruptcy court on May 5, Core Scientific has asked that Celsius Network’s $4.7 million administrative claims be rejected as the firm cannot prove it is entitled to one.
“Celsius’ request for allowance and immediate payment of the Celsius alleged admin claim ignores that Core has substantial claims against Celsius, which Core believes exceed the Celsius alleged admin claim,” wrote the objection.
For context, Core first signed a contract with Celsius in 2020 to host its cryptocurrency holdings in Core’s data centers. However, due to an increase in the price of power, Core passed these additional costs on to Celsius, an allowance that was reportedly stipulated in the original contract.
Core Scientific’s 2020 contract with Celsius Network. Source: Court Filing.
Despite Celsius initially paying these costs, the crypto lender ceased payments after it filed bankruptcy, Core Scientific claimed in the objection.
“If anyone has been unjustly enriched here, it is Celsius,” wrote Core Scientific in the objection. According to the now-defunct Bitcoin miner, Celsius has been “sitting on almost $8 million of money it owes to Core” due to a “blatant post-petition violation” of the agreed-upon dispute resolution mechanism.
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In total, Celsius now allegedly owes Core Scientific approximately $11 million, a sum that accrues an additional $28,000 in fees and interest with each passing day, the Bitcoin mining firm’s lawyers argued.
The conflict between the two firms has been raging since Oct. 19, when Core Scientific first accused Celsius of failing to pay its power bills, citing the non-payments as a significant factor in the liquidity issues that led to the embattled Bitcoin miner filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 21.
“The millions of dollars Celsius shortchanged Core after Celsius’s bankruptcy filing plus the millions of dollars in litigation…significantly contributed to Core’s liquidity drain and eventual chapter 11 filing.”
On Dec. 28, Core Scientific filed a motion seeking approval to reject Celsius’ contracts, claiming the firm’s failure to pay its power bills constituted a material breach of contract. On Jan. 3 Celsius agreed to let Core Scientific shut down more than 37,000 Bitcoin mining rigs the miner was hosting for the crypto lender.
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