What the Criminal Charges for Former Celsius CEO Mean for the Crypto Industry
The ailing crypto lender's former CEO faces multiple charges of fraud and market manipulation as US regulators consider a crypto market overhaul.
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Celsius was one of the top lenders in the crypto ecosystem during the 2021 bull market. At its peak, it served 1.7 million customers and managed $25 billion in assets.
All of this collapsed in June 2022 due to major flaws in the company's working structure.
The bear market of 2022, particularly the implosion of the Terra ecosystem in May, exposed Celsius' fragile business model, which relied heavily on its native CEL token (CEL) and the high rewards it offered.
The price of CEL fell dramatically in June after the relationship between crypto lenders and Terra became public knowledge, followed by Celsius sending huge amounts of funds off the platform and suspending user withdrawals.
Just a month later, on July 14, the struggling company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At the time of filing, it was approximately $2.7 billion in debt.
On June 16, 2022, securities regulators in five U.S. states launched an investigation into Celsius. The company's former CEO, Alex Mashinsky, finally resigned on September 27 amid rumors that he was trying to flee the United States.
By late 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Securities and Exchange Commission had all begun investigating the Celsius collapse and Mashinsky's role in it.
Mashinsky faces criminal chargesThe first blow to the struggling crypto lender came on July 5, 2023, when the CFTC concluded its investigation and alleged that Celsius and Mashinsky violated several US regulations and misled investors.
On ...
The ailing crypto lender's former CEO faces multiple charges of fraud and market manipulation as US regulators consider a crypto market overhaul.
Follow up
Join us on social networks
Celsius was one of the top lenders in the crypto ecosystem during the 2021 bull market. At its peak, it served 1.7 million customers and managed $25 billion in assets.
All of this collapsed in June 2022 due to major flaws in the company's working structure.
The bear market of 2022, particularly the implosion of the Terra ecosystem in May, exposed Celsius' fragile business model, which relied heavily on its native CEL token (CEL) and the high rewards it offered.
The price of CEL fell dramatically in June after the relationship between crypto lenders and Terra became public knowledge, followed by Celsius sending huge amounts of funds off the platform and suspending user withdrawals.
Just a month later, on July 14, the struggling company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At the time of filing, it was approximately $2.7 billion in debt.
On June 16, 2022, securities regulators in five U.S. states launched an investigation into Celsius. The company's former CEO, Alex Mashinsky, finally resigned on September 27 amid rumors that he was trying to flee the United States.
By late 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Securities and Exchange Commission had all begun investigating the Celsius collapse and Mashinsky's role in it.
Mashinsky faces criminal chargesThe first blow to the struggling crypto lender came on July 5, 2023, when the CFTC concluded its investigation and alleged that Celsius and Mashinsky violated several US regulations and misled investors.
On ...
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