Alex Mashinsky, former CEO and founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network, has reached a $10 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, permanently barring him from working in the cryptocurrency industry.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission initially obtained a $4.7 billion judgment against Masinski related to losses from Celsius's collapse, but the vast majority has been stayed, with only $10 million required to be paid.
The court order states: "Marczyński is permanently prohibited from directly or through intermediaries promoting, advertising, offering, or distributing any products or services usable for depositing, exchanging, investing, or withdrawing assets, or assisting in such promotion, advertising, offering, or distribution activities."
According to court filings, the stay may be lifted if the Federal Trade Commission applies to the court and finds that Masinski failed to disclose material assets, misrepresented asset values, or made material misstatements in his financial disclosures. The settlement agreement also imposes reporting and recordkeeping requirements lasting up to 18 years.
This lifetime industry ban is another example of increasing regulatory pressure on cryptocurrency lending platforms. Authorities have filed civil and criminal charges against the founders of several failed companies, including BlockFi and Genesis, and the Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement action against Marcinkowski represents the latest development in this regulatory crackdown.
Celsius filed for bankruptcy in 2022 after freezing customer withdrawals, leaving users unable to access billions of dollars in deposits. Mashinsky is currentlyserving a 12-year sentenceafter pleading guilty in December 2024 to commodities fraud and conspiracy to manipulate the price of Celsius’s native CEL token.
“Celsius claimed to have a new business model, but it engaged in an old-fashioned scam,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.July 2023.