Crypto lending firm Celsius announced that it would pause withdrawals on its platform, citing market conditions as the price of Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies tumbled.
The firm, which reportedly had only a few more weeks worth of financial resources to support customer withdrawals, announced on Twitter that they were suspending withdrawals, swaps and transfers, noting:
As reported by theblock.com, the firm, led by Alex Mashinsky, has over 1.7 million clients and $12 billion in assets.
This news follows concerns regarding the companies exposure to the Terra/ LUNA collapse. In addition, the company has come under increasing regulatory scrutiny. In recent months, many state regulators have made it clear that they view high-yield crypto lending products as unregistered securities offerings. Alabama, New Jersey, Texas and Kentucky have sent cease and desist letters to Celsius.
The price of Celsius’s native token fell sharply on the news, declining 41% to $0.2165 per coin.
The news represents the latest sign of market stress in the crypto sector. Bitcoin was down 6% on Sunday at the time of writing, Ethereum down 6%, BNB down 5%, Cardano down 6%, Solana down 9%, and Dogecoin down 8%.
James Hendrickson is an internet entrepreneur, blogging junky, hunter and personal finance geek. When he’s not lurking in coffee shops in Portland, Oregon, you’ll find him in the Pacific Northwest’s great outdoors. James has a masters degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Bachelors degree on Sociology from Earlham College. He loves individual stocks, bonds and precious metals.