Celsius Network is a company.
Celsius Network has raised $419.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Key people at Celsius Network.
Celsius Network was founded by alex mashinsky (Founder).
Celsius Network has raised $419.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Key people at Celsius Network.
Celsius Network was founded by alex mashinsky (Founder).
Celsius Network has raised $419.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Celsius Network's investors include Matrix Partners India, WestCap, Carya Venture Partners, Gumi Cryptos Capital, Interlace Ventures, #SecretFund, Guillaume Lestrade, Rand Hindi, Thomas Rebaud.
Celsius Network LLC was a centralized cryptocurrency finance (CeFi) platform that allowed users to deposit digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum to earn yields up to 17% annually, while offering collateralized loans at rates from 0% to 8.95%.[1][3][4] Headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey, with global operations, it grew to manage nearly $12 billion in assets and serve 1.7 million customers by mid-2022, but filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2022 amid market turmoil, pausing withdrawals.[1][4] Post-bankruptcy, it restructured by January 2024, distributing assets including a new Bitcoin mining entity, Ionic Digital, to creditors and achieving a 64.9% recovery rate by 2025 through $2.87 billion in payouts.[1][2]
The platform solved liquidity needs in crypto by enabling peer-to-peer-like lending without traditional banks, sharing up to 80% of revenue as rewards in crypto or its CEL token, which offered APY boosts and loan discounts.[3][4][5] Its collapse highlighted CeFi risks, but the pivot to mining has positioned remnants for recovery in a maturing crypto ecosystem.[2]
Founded in 2017 by Alex Mashinsky (CEO with prior tech entrepreneurship), Daniel Leon, and Nuke Goldstein, Celsius emerged to disrupt traditional finance by offering high-yield crypto deposits and low-rate loans without credit checks or origination fees.[1][4][5] Mashinsky's vision focused on "unbanking" users, giving back profits directly via weekly crypto rewards, which fueled rapid growth to over 1 million users in five years.[4] Early traction came from competitive APYs (up to 18.63%) and features like 40+ collateral options, attracting deposits that funded $8 billion in loans by 2022.[1][4] A pivotal moment was the June 2022 withdrawal freeze during the Terra crash and market downturn, leading to bankruptcy as liabilities mounted.[1][3][5]
Celsius rode the 2017-2022 DeFi and CeFi boom, capitalizing on demand for yield farming amid low bank rates and crypto hype, growing assets to $12 billion as users sought 6-17% returns on holdings.[1][3] Its timing aligned with bull markets but exposed vulnerabilities to contagion from events like Terra's collapse, influencing stricter regulations and a shift toward proof-of-reserves in lending platforms.[1][2][3] Market forces like rising Bitcoin mining profitability post-halving favored its reinvention via Ionic Digital, aligning with U.S.-friendly models from firms like Marathon Digital.[2] Celsius shaped the ecosystem by popularizing retail CeFi but its fallout accelerated hybrid CeFi-DeFi models and creditor protections, underscoring crypto's maturation beyond speculative lending.[2][5]
Celsius's remnants, via Ionic Digital, are poised for growth in Bitcoin mining amid favorable energy regulations and halvings, with creditor recoveries projected to hit 67-85%.[2] CEL token, now a decentralized asset post-primary use case loss, faces volatile forecasts—moderate views see it above $1 by 2028 on market growth, while bullish ones eye $9+ if adoption rebounds.[3] Trends like regulatory clarity and institutional mining will shape its path, potentially evolving influence from cautionary tale to resilient player in tokenized assets. This reinvention ties back to its original promise of user-aligned finance, now hardened by real-world stress tests.[2][3]
Celsius Network has raised $419.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $400.0M Series B in October 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2021 | $400.0M Series B | Matrix Partners India, WestCap | |
| Jul 1, 2020 | $19.0M Venture Round | Carya Venture Partners, Gumi Cryptos Capital, Interlace Ventures, #SecretFund, Guillaume Lestrade, Rand Hindi, Thomas Rebaud |