Sources: Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky withdrew $10M from the crypto lender weeks before the company froze user accounts; a source says ~$8M was used for taxes
Celsius was already under pressure after reports that Alex Mashinsky had personally directed trades that produced large losses, followed by his resignation as CEO of the bankrupt lender. The reported pre-freeze withdrawal shifts attention from Celsius’s balance-sheet hole to its founder’s personal transactions while customer accounts were later restricted.
Mashinsky faces more pointed scrutiny over the timing and purpose of his personal withdrawal, alongside the explanation that roughly $8M went to taxes.
For Celsius customers whose accounts were frozen, the report intensifies the perceived conflict between insider liquidity and their loss of access to funds.
Second-order effects
The subsequent court disclosure makes executive cash-outs a broader Celsius governance issue rather than a question confined to Mashinsky’s transaction.
Celsius’s reported trading losses and the withdrawal allegations jointly increase pressure on the company to account for both risk decisions and insider dealings.
Third-order effects
The Celsius sequence points toward crypto-lender failures being evaluated not only through asset shortfalls, but through executives’ conduct and transaction histories; later CFTC investigators’ conclusions show that scrutiny extending to alleged investor deception and rule breaches.
If similar cases persist, lender governance and insider-transaction disclosures become a central test of the crypto sector’s legitimacy rather than a secondary bankruptcy detail.
The trend: Crypto lending crises are shifting scrutiny from opaque balance sheets toward whether executives’ actions aligned with the treatment of customers and investors.
Statement from Alex Mashinsky's spokesperson: “In mid to late May 2022, Mr. Mashinsky withdrew a percentage of cryptocurrency in his account, much of which was used pay state and federal taxes. In the nine months leading up to that withdrawal, he consistently deposited cryptocurr…
@simondixontwitt
Simon Dixon on x
“Celsius Network founder withdrew $10mn ahead of bankruptcy” - you told me everything was fine @Mashinsky & I should invest more of our clients retirement funds. You even broke your silence to blame me for your lying, stealing & cheating. Insider clawbacks please. https://twitter…
@therealplanc
@therealplanc on x
I was relentlessly attacked, trolled and disrespected over the last few months after I was the first person in the #Celsius community to publicly call out Alex Mashinsky as a bad actor. Everything I have stated about Alex continues to be proven correct. Apologies are in order.
@thinkingcrypto1
Tony Edward on x
Big time Rug https://twitter.com/...
@celsiusloans
@celsiusloans on x
Criminal Fraud and Scammer Alex Mashinsky Support Clawbacks on Celsius Insiders Investigate Celsius Insiders on whether their Cel-backed loans were or were not in fact liquidated after the June 12 halt. @Zach_HODL_ON @thomasvandenh10 https://twitter.com/...
@tiffanyfong_
Tiffany Fong on x
wow @Mashinsky https://twitter.com/...
@fatmanterra
Fat Man on x
In the days leading up to the Celsius collapse, Mashinsky assured customers that everything was okay, claiming he had “adequate reserves”. Unbeknownst to them, he was simultaneously withdrawing millions of dollars from the soon-to-be bankrupt company into his own pocket. Pathetic…
@10_fortyone
@10_fortyone on x
Another bad apple from the same tree Do Kwon fell off of. https://twitter.com/...
@bigshortbets
@bigshortbets on x
GM That's probably your money... https://www.ft.com/...
@iankar_
@iankar_ on x
Every crypto founder seems to be taking a page out of Adam Neumann's playbook https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton
Casey Newton on x
Damn, that's $50 million in Fahrenheit https://twitter.com/...
@goldman
Jason Goldman on x
Indict crypto scammers https://twitter.com/...
@ben_mckenzie
Ben McKenzie on x
Unwithdraw yourself https://twitter.com/...
@quintenfrancois
@quintenfrancois on x
Celsius Network founder withdrew $10mn ahead of bankruptcy. Please hold your own keys ladies a gentlemen. https://www.ft.com/...