Celsius Network
Script error: No such module "Draft topics".
Script error: No such module "AfC topic".
| Founded | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Alex Mashinsky, Daniel Leon, Nuke Goldstein |
| Headquarters | United States |
Employees | 500 |
| Website | https://celsius.network/ |
Celsius is a centralized finance platform on the Ethereum blockchain.[1][2] Celsius allows users of its digital cryptocurrency wallet app to earn interest on cryptocurrency deposits and to take out cash loans using cryptocurrencies as collateral.[3] The company's goal is to disrupt the financial industry by using blockchain technology to enable instant peer-to-peer loans.[1] Celsius has more than one million registered users.[4] The CEO of Celsius is Alex Mashinsky.[5][6]
In June 2022, Celsius paused all withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts due to what it called "extreme market conditions."[7][8]
History[edit]
Celsius was founded in 2017 by Alex Mashinsky, Daniel Leon, and Nuke Goldstein.[3][9] Leon said Celsius' goal was to build "a better, fairer, and more transparent financial arena for billions of people around the world."[3] The company manages its operations from the United States and United Kingdom, with much of its development taking place in Serbia.[3] Celsius has an office in Israel with 100 employees.[10]
In March 2018, Celsius raised $50 million in its initial coin offering (ICO) of the CEL digital currency.[11][12] In April 2018, the CEL cryptocurrency began trading on cryptocurrency exchanges.[3] In advance of the ICO, Celsius listed its currency as a security.[3] In June 2018, Celsius launched its mobile app. In 2019, Celsius completed a $24 million equity round at $140 million valuation.[3]
In August 2020, Celsius raised $20 million via an equity crowdfunding to support its operations.[13] In the fall of 2020, the price of Celsius's currency climbed more than 230 percent in less than a month.[3]
In November 2020, Celsius said it had plans to open an office in Australia and to expand its office in Israel.[3] In December 2020, Celsius had $3.31 billion in assets under management.[14] In January 2021, Celsius had more than $4.5 billion in assets.[15]
In September 2021, authorities in a number of US states said that Celsius's interest-bearing cryptocurrency accounts constitute an unregistered securities offering.[16][17] The attorney general of New Jersey ordered Celsius to stop issuing interest-bearing cryptocurrency products via a cease-and-desist order.[16] Texas state regulators filed a notice seeking a hearing in February 2022 to determine whether to take similar action. Kentucky’s securities regulator told Celsius to cease and desist from offering its interest paying accounts in the state.[18] Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky said he was "very confident" that none of Celsius’s products in the United States were securities.[16] Celsius said it was working with US states in order to provide clarity about its business operations.[16]
In October 2021, Celsius raised $400 million in new equity from investors.[4][19] The funding round was led by WestCap, the fund led by former Airbnb executive Laurence Tosi, and CDPQ, Canada's second largest pension fund.[4] The funding round valued Celsius at $3 billion.[4][20]
In November 2021, Celsius acquired the Israeli cybersecurity company GK8 for $115 million.[21][22]
In February 2022, Celsius hired Rod Bolger, the former finance chief of the Royal Bank of Canada, to become its new chief financial officer.[23]
In May 2022, the Financial Times reported that Celsius has suffered a 50 percent decline year-to-date in the value of assets deposited on its platform.[24] The same month, Celsius halved its borrowings of the Tether's stablecoin in the months before the temporary loss of Tether's dollar peg.[25]
In June 2022, Celsius paused all withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts. The company did not say when it would lift the suspension.[7] Celsius said that its customers would continue to earn interest during the freeze.[26]
Business Model[edit]
Before Celsius froze withdrawals in June 2022, the company facilitated lending and borrowing for its users.[15][27] Depositors earned a 6.2 percent interest rate on up to one bitcoin.[2] Borrowers paid between zero and 8.95 percent on bitcoin-backed loans, depending on the loan-to-value ratio.[2] Some of the money that Celsius used to fund the loans came from hedge funds that that were looking for higher yields than banks pay.[2] Celsius pays its customers up to 17 percent on deposits of cryptocurrencies.[4] The company pays the interest in-kind in cryptocurrencies, including in its own CEL token.[4]
Celsius generated revenue from token sales, lending, and discretionary trading of cryptocurrencies.[4] Up to 80 percent of Celsius's revenue is returned to its user community through interest payments on deposits made through its platform.[28][29] The company does not charge any fees.[3] Celsius provides insurance so that if the borrower defaults, Celsius covers the portion of the principal loan amount for the lender and is responsible for recovering the money owed to the lenders.[1]
In October 2020, Mashinsky called the entrance of PayPal into the cryptocurrency space "a rising tide for all crypto players." Mashinsky said that if companies like PayPal bring millions of new users into the cryptocurrency space, many of those customers will seek out services like Celsius for its lending services and interest income.[30]
Celsius has over $200 million invested in Bitcoin mining and is one of the largest miners in North America.[31]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rogers, Stewart (2017-10-10). "Celsius aims to disrupt the consumer credit industry using blockchain". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2020-12-23. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ensign, Rachel Louise (2021-09-10). "Crypto Fans Borrow to Buy Homes, Cars—and More Crypto". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Katsiri, Roy (2020-04-11). "Confident Celsius Network takes aim at the banks". Globes. Retrieved 2020-12-23. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Shubber, Kadhim; Oliver, Joshua (2021-10-12). "Crypto lender Celsius Network raises $400m as regulatory pressure grows". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
- ↑ "Bitcoin climbs to three-year peak, all-time high in focus". Reuters. 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2020-12-23. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ La Monica, Paul R (2020-11-05). "Bitcoin surges above $15,000 and is closing in on record". CNN. Retrieved 2020-12-23. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Huang, Vicky Ge (2022-06-13). "Big Crypto Lender Celsius Freezes All Account Withdrawals". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ↑ "Binance halts bitcoin withdrawals after Celsius blocks all redemptions". Financial Times. 2022-06-13. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ↑ Coffey, Lauren (2021-05-10). "Exclusive: The co-founder of a crypto industry giant just moved to Tampa — and wants to open its next office here". Tampa Bay Business Journal. Retrieved 2021-06-26. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Shulman, Sophie (2021-10-25). "Is Celsius the bank of the future or just a $3 billion-pyramid scheme?". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
- ↑ Katsiri, Roy (2019-01-09). "מכירת החיסול בביטקוין תיגמר, והוא יחזור למחירו האמיתי" [The liquidation sale in bitcoin will end, and it will return to its real price]. Globes (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2020-12-23. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) - ↑ "TECH TALK: Meet Alex Mashinsky, everyone's white knight". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
- ↑ Sozzi, Brian (2020-12-17). "Will bitcoin price hit $500,000?". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 2020-12-23. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Hyde, Caroline; Bostick, Romaine; Weisenthal, Joe (2020-12-09). "There Are Many 'On-Ramps' Now for Bitcoin: Celsius Network Founder". Bloomberg. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 15.0 15.1 Vigna, Paul (2021-01-07). "Bitcoin's Hot 2021 Continues With Move Above $40,000". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Oliver, Joshua; Murphy, Hannah (2021-09-17). "US states clamp down on crypto yield products from Celsius Network". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
- ↑ "States Act Against Celsius Network for Unregistered Products". Bloomberg.com. 2021-09-17. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
- ↑ "Crypto Lender Celsius Told to Stop Offering Accounts in Kentucky". Bloomberg.com. 2021-09-23. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
- ↑ Lee, Isabelle (2021-10-12). "Crypto lender Celsius Network's valuation soars 2,400% in latest fundraising round". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-10-13. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Oliver, Joshua; Shubber, Kadhim (2021-10-13). "Celsius investment shows 'conviction' in blockchain, says CDPQ". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
- ↑ Orbach, Meir (2021-11-01). "Crypto powerhouse Celsius acquiring Israeli startup GK8 for $115 million". Calcalist. Retrieved 2021-11-05. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Stub, Zev (2021-11-05). "Tech Buzz: HoneyBook and Autobrains continue funding momentum". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2021-11-05. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Monga, Vipal (2022-02-18). "Crypto Lending Company Celsius Names New CFO". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
- ↑ "Crypto lender Celsius Network stung by sell-off in digital asset market". Financial Times. 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ↑ "Crypto lender's Tether loan halved". Financial Times. 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ↑ Reuters (2022-06-13). "Crypto firm Celsius pauses all transfers, withdrawals as markets tumble". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ↑ Wilson, Tom; Howcroft, Elizabeth (2022-06-13). "Bitcoin slides after crypto lender Celsius Network freezes withdrawals". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ↑ Katsiri, Roy (2019-08-08). "צלזיוס מסירה מחסום בשימוש במטבע שלה להלוואות בארה"ב" [Celsius removes the barrier to using its digital currency for US loans]. Globes (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2020-12-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) - ↑ "This CEO says crypto doesn't need Elon Musk to trade higher". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 2021-06-04. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "PayPal is shilling crypto on the internet". Financial Times. 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2020-12-30. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Celsius CEO still sees Bitcoin finishing the year between $140-160K". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
This article "Celsius Network" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Celsius Network. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
|
This page exists already on Wikipedia. |
