Celsius Network was among the prominent crypto firms to file for bankruptcy during the liquidity crunch within the fledgling blockchain-powered financial-services industry last summer.
The crypto lender was also among the very first firms to suspend customer withdrawals in mid-June, before finally filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a bit more than a month later.
The company then explained that it was a collateral victim of the collapse of sister cryptocurrencies Luna and UST or TerraUSD. These two tokens had fallen after a run on the bank, which then affected all companies that were exposed to them, such as the hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.
Three Arrows Capital, or 3AC, had received significant sums of money from many crypto lenders like Celsius and Voyager Digital to invest. When the hedge fund was forced into liquidation, all its clients paid a heavy price.
Celsius operated like a bank in the crypto universe. Basically, it was an entity working as an intermediary between different actors.
Its business model was to lend — to hedge funds and other institutional investors — the cryptocurrencies of its clients, to whom it had promised significant high yields. It promised 18% interest rates to customers who deposited their cryptocurrencies. That's a much higher rate than traditional savings accounts offer.
These promises helped Celsius, founded in 2017, to build up to more than $20 billion in assets in five years. To critics who felt that the company's model was not sustainable over time, Founder and CEO Alex Mashinsky insisted that it was possible. In a complaint filed by one of its money managers, Jason Stone of KeyFi, the company was accused of operating a Ponzi scheme. It denied the claims.
When Luna and USD crashed, Celsius struggled to withdraw funds from their ecosystem, Terra Anchor Protocol.
"As the credit crunch spread like wildfire through the industry last summer, Mashinsky said his firm was financially sound. According to him, there was no need to worry.
"Do you know even one person who has a problem withdrawing from Celsius?" Mashinsky asked a Twitter user on June 11. The next day, Celsius announced that it was suspending customer withdrawals and other operations due to "extreme market conditions."
Celsius said in June that it owed its customers nearly $4.7 billion in crypto. The lender said it had 1.7 million customers, including 300,000 with accounts valued at more than $100, according to its bankruptcy filings.
The firm has been under pressure from retail investors who want to recoup some of their money. These investors are organizing on social media and their goal is to push the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or/and the Federal Trade Commission, which is supposed to protect consumers, to open investigations into Celsius.
This campaign turned ugly, according to Mashinsky, who has just indicated on his Twitter account that his family has received threats. He does not give details.
But he called Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, for help. He asked the billionaire to intervene because the threats would have been made on the social network.
"Hi @elonmusk please take action against users who are threatening my family with physical violence for the past 6 months," Mashinsky tweeted at Musk on December 7. "Also the influencers who have been flaming the fire with unsubstantiated accusations while soliciting the same angry people to sign up to their service."
Mashinsky's plea is accompanied by tweets from his wife in which she says the couple's children have been threatened by anonymous people.
Krissy Mashinsky reported the threats to Twitter and received a response stating that the accounts in question had not violated the platform's rules.
But if one clicks the links inserted in one of her messages, the messages she cites are no longer available. Instead, a message reads: "This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules."
"Roxas no point in deleting. Is SouthWestern Australia treating you nicely. Look up🛰️Dont you ever threanten my kids again. Reviewing your account now. @waybackmachine @Twitter https://twitter.com/tweetsbybrayden/status/1536224747314630657," Krissy Mashinsky posted on Dec. 4.
Two days later, Krissy Mashinsky posted the following message:
"As one parent to another & now that you are in charge @elonmusk, please review this response re: the public threats made against my children on twitter. Specifically this one. Thank you. @TwitterSupport," She said.
Mashinsky resigned as CEO on Sept. 27, saying that he was becoming "a distraction” to the company he founded. That company, once valued at $3 billion, is now undergoing bankruptcy procedures..
"Effective immediately, please accept my resignation as CEO of Celsius Network Ltd, as well as my directorships and other positions at each of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, with the exception of my director position at Celsius Network Ltd,” he wrote in a resignation letter.
"I regret that my continued role as CEO has become an increasing distraction, and I am very sorry about the difficult financial circumstances members of our community are facing.”
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