Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky Banned From Crypto Industry in $10 Million FTC Settlement

In brief

• Alex Mashinsky settled with the FTC for $10 million and received a lifetime ban from the cryptocurrency industry.
• Agreement reduces an initial $4.7 billion judgment tied to customer losses from Celsius Network's collapse.
• The suspended judgment can be reinstated if Mashinsky fails to disclose assets or makes material misstatements.

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 advertising, marketing, promoting, offering, or distributing, or assisting in the advertising, marketing, promoting, offering, or distributing of any product or service that can be used to deposit, exchange, invest, or withdraw assets, whether directly or through an intermediary,” the court order states.

The suspended judgment can be lifted if the FTC asks the court and finds that Mashinsky failed to disclose a material asset, misstated asset value, or made material misstatements in financial disclosures, according to court documents. The settlement order also imposes reporting and record-keeping requirements for up to 18 years.

The lifetime industry ban follows a pattern of increased regulatory scrutiny of crypto lending platforms. Authorities have pursued both civil and criminal cases against founders of collapsed firms including BlockFi and Genesis, with the FTC's enforcement action against Mashinsky representing the latest in this regulatory campaign.

Celsius filed for bankruptcy in 2022 after freezing customer withdrawals and leaving users unable to access billions in deposits. Mashinsky is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in December 2024 to commodities fraud and a scheme to manipulate the price of Celsius's native CEL token.

“Celsius touted a new business model but engaged in an old-fashioned swindle,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in July 2023.