Judge Martin Glenn, who is presiding over the Celsius bankruptcy case, ruled on Jan. 4 that the funds in the Celsius interest-bearing Earn program belong to Celsius under the terms of the program’s terms of use. The funds reportedly amount to more than $4 billion. 

“The issue of ownership of the assets in the Earn Accounts is a contract law issue,” Judge Martin wrote, citing the latest version of the Earn program’s terms of use that stated lending platform Celsius held “all right and title to such Eligible Digital Assets, including ownership rights.”

The judge called the terms of use “unambiguous,” and pointed out that, if the funds in question belong to the debtor, their return will depend on a Chapter 11 plan for distributions to unsecured creditors, resulting in a more equitable result than if some of the account holders are declared owners of the funds locked up in the program. The judge concluded:

“As has been said repeatedly in this opinion, creditor’s rights with respect to various defense to and breach of contract claims are reserved. Creditors will have every opportunity to have a full hearing on the merits of these arguments during the claims resolution process.”