The crypto winter is in full effect, with the market for digital currencies deteriorating over the past month and exchange platforms that facilitate transactions on the blockchain facing the brunt of the damage.
Alex Mashinsky, head of crypto loan company, Celsius, is feeling the added heat as rumors of bankruptcy, flight risks, and a still-frozen platform loom over the company. The platform halted all user withdrawals this month, supposedly due to liquidity issues, something Mashinsky was poking fun of other platforms for doing just a year ago.
Life comes at you fast —
Ahead of Celsius’ freeze on withdrawals, Mashinsky went on the record in a Twitter Space to lambast anonymous short-selling on Wall Street, as a leading cause of trouble for not just his own company’s token (CEL), but a variety of other cryptocurrencies like LUNA.
“They took down Luna. They tried Tether, Maker and many other companies. It’s not just us,” he told Cointelegraph, when asked for additional details following the Twitter Space. “I don’t think they have a specific hate or focus on Celsius. They are all looking for any weakness to short and destroy... The point is that the sharks of Wall Street are now swimming in crypto waters.”
Since the withdrawal and transfer freeze, Celsius has apparently been looking into an advisory firm for guidance in the event of a bankruptcy filing, as reported by the Wall Street Journal at the end of last week.
More recently, Mashinsky’s flight to Isreal at the beginning of this week was halted by authorities according to Mike Alfred, a well-known investor and figure in the crypto space. While this news should not be treated as a sign that the CEO was trying to flee the country amidst the crumbling of his company, the optics certainly don’t look good when state security regulators have been investigating the company’s transaction freeze.
Meanwhile, the Celsius platform is still paying weekly rewards to users who have their deposits held hostage, instead of, you know, allowing them to withdraw their funds. The company’s site is also inaccessible at the moment due to the aforementioned transaction freeze.
