Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky Gets 12 Years in Prison for $4.7B Crypto Fraud

Another ’crypto visionary’ falls hard—this time with an orange jumpsuit upgrade. A New York court just handed down the hammer to Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky for orchestrating one of DeFi’s most spectacular flameouts.

Fraud pays (until it doesn’t). The ex-CEO’s Ponzi-style scheme promised moon returns while secretly burning $4.7 billion in customer funds. Spoiler: yield miracles require actual revenue, not just fresh suckers.

Regulators finally bagged their white whale. After two years of investigations spanning three agencies, Mashinsky joins the growing roster of crypto executives who mistook ’trustless’ for ’consequence-free.’

Bonus finance jab: Who needs exit liquidity when you’ve got a 12-year federal vacation? Just don’t check your portfolio from prison—BTC’s next ATH might sting.