Jun 18, 2026
Law and Order
CFTC Hits Celsius Crypto Fraudster Alex Mashinsky With Permanent Trading Ban
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has resolved its 2023 enforcement action against Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky, permanently banning him from trading markets regulated by the CFTC. The consent order also imposes a permanent CFTC registration ban on the former crypto founder, and marks the completion of the regulator’s first case against a digital asset lending platform, according to its 2023 press release. Mashinsky, who also acted as the CEO of Celsius, was imprisoned for 12 y...
May 29, 2026
Law and Order
Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky Files to Have 12-Year Crypto Fraud Sentence Vacated
Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of defunct crypto lending platform Celsius, is seeking to vacate his 12-year prison sentence according to a new motion filed in the District Court for the Southern District of New York. The motion to vacate, which is handwritten by Mashinsky, cited ineffective counsel and “fruit of a poisonous tree” as grounds for vacating the sentence. Mashinsky, who pleaded guilty to counts of commodities and securities fraud, attached additional materials to support...
Apr 29, 2026
Law and Order
Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky Banned From Crypto Industry in $10 Million FTC Settlement
Alex Mashinsky, former CEO and founder of collapsed crypto lending platform Celsius Network, reached a $10 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that permanently bans him from working in the cryptocurrency industry. The FTC initially secured a $4.7 billion judgment against Mashinsky tied to losses from the Celsius collapse, though the vast majority of that has been suspended, with only $10 million required to be paid. “Mashinsky is permanently restrained and enjoined from adverti...
Jun 20, 2025
Business
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky Forfeits All Claims to Bankruptcy Proceeds
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky has agreed to forfeit all claims to the bankrupt crypto lender's assets, clearing the way for additional creditor distributions. The agreement, filed Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, prohibits Mashinsky and three related entities (AM Ventures Holdings Inc., Koala1 LLC, and Koala3 LLC) from receiving any bankruptcy proceeds. All of Mashinsky's claims submitted or scheduled on his behalf be "withdrawn, disallowed, and sha...
Dec 3, 2024
Law and Order
Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky Will Plead Guilty to Fraud Charges: Reuters
Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of collapsed crypto lender Celsius, will plead guilty to U.S. federal fraud charges, Reuters reported Tuesday. Mashinsky reportedly said in a court hearing that he would plead guilty to two of the seven fraud counts levied against him: commodities fraud and conspiring to manipulate the price of the firm's CEL token. The disgraced crypto founder's trial was set to begin on January 28, 2025, after a motion from his lawyers to dismiss two charges was denie...
Aug 27, 2024
Markets
Bankrupt Crypto Lender Celsius Has Repaid $2.5 Billion to Creditors
Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius has now reimbursed around two-thirds of its creditors, approximately 93% of the eligible money owed. According to the recent court filing, the company has now distributed $2.53 billion to over 251,000 creditors since the repayment plan kicked off in January 2024. Celsius, which declared bankruptcy in July 2022, allowed users to receive interest on crypto deposits. At the company's peak, it claimed to have had 1.7 million users with $25 billion in assets under manag...
Sep 26, 2023
Business
Celsius Network Creditors Approve $2 Billion Restructuring Plan
More than 98% of creditor groups of the insolvent crypto lender Celsius have voted in favor of the proposed reorganization plan, which will return between 67% and 85% of their investments. Additionally, Celsius’ creditors will get equity in a newly formed entity, tentatively called “NewCo,” according to a voting declaration filed by restructuring agency Stretto on September 25. The reorganization plan was approved despite objections from the U.S. Trustee, the DoJ-backed entity responsible for ov...
Sep 15, 2023
Law and Order
Celsius Exec Pleads Guilty, Agrees to Cooperate in Case Against CEO
Roni Cohen-Pavon, 36, a former executive at Alex Mashinsky’s bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius Network, has pleaded guilty to four criminal charges, per court documents shared by Inner City Press. Cohen-Pavon faces a combined maximum term of imprisonment of 65 years over charges relating to market manipulation of a security in the CEL token and wire fraud. Along with his prison sentence, Cohen-Pavon will be required to make restitution in an amount to be specified by the court. His senten...
Sep 12, 2023
Business
Former Celsius Boss Mashinsky Seeks to Have FTC Case Dropped
Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt crypto lending company Celsius, is seeking to have the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) drop its case against him “in its entirety.” In a court filing Monday, Mashinsky's lawyers contended that the allegations do not support a claim that he knowingly made misstatements to fraudulently obtain customer information from a financial institution. Specifically, Mashinsky's legal team, represented by Yankwitt LLP, argued that the accusations do not s...
Sep 11, 2023
Business
Ex-Algorand Boss Steve Kokinos Tapped as CEO for Firm Buying Celsius
Steve Kokinos has been proposed as CEO for the company buying Celsius, according to court filings. The former Algorand CEO—who stepped down from that role in July 2022—is among nine names appointed to the board of the appropriately-named Fahrenheit Holdings. Other well-known names include Michael Arrington, who founded his eponymous crypto hedge fund Arrington Capital after being an early investor in Uber and Pinterest. The court documents, submitted on Friday, reveal that the Official Committee...
Jul 14, 2023
Business
Court Sets Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky’s Bail at $40M
Alex Mashinsky, the ex-CEO of the collapsed crypto lender Celsius Network, will be released on bail after he was arrested and charged with fraud on Thursday. Per court documents, Mashinsky has agreed to a $40 million personal recognizance bond, which has to be signed by his wife by Friday, July 14, and by another, yet to be identified financially responsible person before July 21. Under the deal, Mashinsky is required to hand his travel documents to authorities, with his travels restricted to Ne...
Jul 13, 2023
Business
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky Arrested—SEC, CFTC and FTC Sue for Fraud
Celsius and its former CEO Alex Mashinsky have been hit with a barrage of federal charges from various U.S. agencies, including federal criminal charges from the Department of Justice and civil lawsuits from the SEC, CFTC, and FTC. Federal prosecutors have charged Mashinsky with fraud and allege that he along with the company's chief revenue officer, Roni Cohen-Pavon, and other employees, orchestrated "a scheme to inflate the price of Celsius's proprietary token, CEL." They also allege that the...
Jul 12, 2023
Business
Bankrupt Celsius Demands StakeHound Return $150M in Ethereum, Polygon and Polkadot
Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius has accused StakeHound of failing to hand back $150 million worth of various tokens which it had entrusted to the liquid staking platform. In a complaint filed as part of Celsius’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, lawyers also alleged that StakeHound had violated bankruptcy rules by commencing an arbitration proceeding against the business in Switzerland. Leveling claims of breach of contract and “willful misconduct” against StakeHound, the complaint says the firm s...
Jul 6, 2023
Business
CFTC Mulls Filing Fresh Case Against Celsius Network, Former CEO Mashinsky: Report
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has concluded that the bankrupt crypto lender and its former CEO Alex Mashinsky broke U.S. rules before the company’s collapse last year, according to a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources. Celsius was a popular crypto lending platform that allowed users to deposit cash and earn returns on their digital assets. The New Jersey-based company froze withdrawals in June 2022, citing “extreme market conditions,” and filed for bankruptcy a month later...
May 25, 2023
Business
Crypto Consortium Fahrenheit Wins Bid to Acquire Bankrupt Celsius' Assets
Crypto consortium Fahrenheit has emerged as the winning bidder in the acquisition of the insolvent lender Celsius Network, court filings published Thursday revealed. The consortium, backed by mining company US Bitcoin Corp., Arrington Capital, Proof Group, Steven Kokinos, and Ravi Kaza, will take ownership of Celsius's institutional loan portfolio, staked crypto assets, the firm’s Bitcoin mining unit, and other cryptocurrency-related investments. Fahrenheit will also provide the capital, managem...
Feb 10, 2023
Business
Celsius Looking to Raise $14.4M Selling Bitcoin Mining Coupons and Credits
In another attempt to collect funds to repay creditors, the now-bankrupt crypto lender Celsius is now looking to sell $14.4 million in coupons and credits for Bitcoin mining company Bitmain. The proposed deal, filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York Thursday, comprises $7.4 million in coupons that give holders a 10%-30% discount on future purchases of Bitmain’s mining rigs. According to Celsius interim CEO Christopher Ferraro’s statement, the Bitmain coupons ex...
Feb 9, 2023
Business
Celsius Faces ‘Looming Liquidity Cliff in June’, Says Creditors Committee
Individuals involved in Celsius’ bankruptcy case objected to a motion made by the defunct crypto lender that would extend a key deadline for the second time. Since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July of last year, the company has had the exclusive right of putting forth a restructuring plan for the lender. In December, the court overseeing Celsius’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy case extended that timeline for Celsius to February 15, after the company stated it needed additional time. Long Line o...
Feb 1, 2023
Business
Who's Eligible to Get Their Crypto Back From Bankrupt Celsius?
Celsius users rejoice. Well, some of them, anyway. Today, the now-bankrupt crypto lender announced that certain "eligible users" can expect to withdraw their funds soon. A court filing indicates that "on or around February 15, 2023" this batch of users will be notified of their eligibility as well as begin the process to withdraw their funds. This process involves updating users' addresses and providing information as per KYC and AML regulations. Importantly, these users will only be able to wit...
Jan 31, 2023
Business
Celsius Was Using QuickBooks for Its Accounting—Just Like FTX
Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius used Quickbooks to keep track of its finances, a court-appointed examiner wrote in a report released Tuesday. That made it especially challenging to assess the company’s finances post-bankruptcy, as Quickbooks is “geared mainly toward small and medium-sized businesses,” wrote Examiner Shoba Pillay. Celsius’s finances were tracked across its various divisions in 15 separate Quickbooks files, Pillay wrote, without automatic systems in place to produce consolidated st...
Jan 31, 2023
Business
Celsius Problems 'Dated Back to at Least 2020': Examiner’s Report
"Celsius’s problems did not start in 2022," read today's examiner's report on the now-bankrupt crypto lender. "Rather, serious problems dated back to at least 2020, after Celsius started using customer assets to fund operational expenses and rewards." The final examiner’s report for Celsius’s bankruptcy proceedings paints a detailed account of the crypto lender’s finances and actions in the lead-up to its insolvency. Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2022 after it had f...