Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky Gets 12 Years in Prison—Another Crypto ’Visionary’ Bites the Dust

Crypto’s favorite fall guy just got a decade-plus timeout. Alex Mashinsky—the once-celebrated CEO of bankrupt Celsius Network—was sentenced to 12 years for defrauding investors out of billions. The judge wasn’t swayed by his ’disruptive innovator’ schtick.

From Crypto Messiah to Orange Jumpsuit

Remember when Mashinsky pitched Celsius as the anti-bank? Turns out, his platform was just a Ponzi with a slick app. Prosecutors proved he lied about everything from yields to risk—classic ’fake it till you make it’ finance, but with blockchain buzzwords.

The Irony Isn’t Lost on Us

Twelve years is poetic: roughly how long it’ll take the SEC to approve the next Bitcoin ETF. Meanwhile, Wall Street’s old-school fraudsters get fines and book deals. At least crypto keeps its prison sentences as decentralized as its ledger.

Mashinsky to forfeit personal wealth and properties

To compensate Celsius Network depositors, Mashinsky will forfeit $48M of his personal funds and nine real estate properties. 

Mashinsky’s defense admits to a loss of $590M, though other estimates show Celsius owes as much as $4.7B. Unfortunately, the platform lacks the funds to repay all creditors and has only distributed around $127M in the second phase of its compensation program. Total losses are estimated at up to $7B, including the lost value from the project’s native token.

The trial also called forward over 200 personal statements of wealth loss due to involvement with Celsius Network. Prosecutors pointed out the damaging effect of wiping out personal life savings, while demanding a maximum sentence. 

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