Oct 6, 2022 - Economy & Business

Celsius Network execs made withdrawals pre-bankruptcy

Animated illustration of a hand holding a rotating glowing golden pixel coin.

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Celsius Network's financial statements show a history of executives making withdrawals in the weeks leading up to the crypto lender's decision to halt customer withdrawals and file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Why it matters: The crypto lender has time and again insisted that it operates with "the entire community and all clients in mind," yet the numbers, according to Celsius documents, tell a different story.

Driving the news: The statement shows tens of millions of withdrawals by former chief Alex Mashinsky, former strategy head Daniel Leon, and chief technology officer Nuke Goldstein.

  • Mashinsky and Leon recently resigned from their positions.

Details: Mashinsky, Leon and Goldstein made a string of withdrawals mostly from custody accounts, as opposed to the firm's Earn accounts, in May and June denominated in bitcoin, ether, the stablecoin USDC, and its native token cel, according to a filing submitted in New York late Wednesday.

  • Mashinsky's withdrawals of roughly $10 million were reported by the Financial Times ahead of the filing's submission.

Flashback: Celsius left customers in the lurch when it halted transactions on its platform in June after assuring customers that nothing was wrong.

  • The following month, the company filed for bankruptcy with a $1.2 billion hole to plug on its balance sheet, and has since shown remarkable tenacity in trying to revive its business.

Requests for statements sent to the three Celsius execs via social media platforms were unanswered.

What we're watching: The very next hearing in the Celsius bankruptcy proceedings will be tomorrow, Oct. 7.

  • The crypto lender's assets are set to go to auction later this month, during which a large number of participants are expected.
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