Celsius: Data Confirms Suspicions

The former Celsius CEO had money wired to himself before the bankruptcy, and he wasn't the only one.

The former Celsius CEO had money wired to himself before the bankruptcy, and he wasn't the only one. This is confirmed by new documents.

14,532 pages full of customer data that shed light on Celsius's operations. Most importantly, customers - current and former - were exposed.

The court document contains not only names, but also details about the respective transactions of Celsius customers. Among them are prominent companies like Deloitte, Github and Reddit.

Celsius management apparently secured funds for themselves

The explosive aspect of the case: the document confirms that former CEO Alex Mashinsky quickly had $10 million USD paid out to himself before the bankruptcy was announced. His staff apparently did not leave empty-handed either. CSO Daniel Leon received $7 million USD and CTO Nuke Goldstein $550,000 USD before Celsius ended up in bankruptcy.

In the wake of the events, Mashinsky had stepped down from his role. The resignation, however, hardly came as a surprise. He had already been promoted by former exchange customers. As recently disclosed, Daniel Leon also followed the former CEO's example and stepped down as well.

Lending platform lost customers' money

In August it was revealed that the company had lost $1.2 billion. The business model was based on crypto lending. Customers could lend or deposit their crypto into the protocol. In return, Celsius Network had promised them high yields of up to 20 percent. CEO Alex Mashinsky had always stressed that the risk was low and that customers could count on getting their money back, including generous interest. This apparently went as far as him claiming in weekly AMA sessions that the network was safer than traditional banks.

Late September it was reported that the FTX exchange planned to acquire the bankrupt company. However, no figure for the takeover plans has been announced. Meanwhile former and estranged customers are organizing via Telegram and Reddit.