Crypto lending company Celsius has announced that it will pause withdrawals on its platform, citing market conditions as the price of Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies plummeted.
The company, which reportedly only had a few more weeks of financial resources to support customer withdrawals, announced on Twitter that it would suspend withdrawals, exchanges and transfers, noting:
As I mentioned theblock.comThe company, led by Alex Mashinsky, has more than 1.7 million customers and $12 billion in assets.
This news comes on the heels of concerns about companies’ exposure to The collapse of Tira / Luna. In addition, the company has been subject to further regulatory scrutiny. In recent months, several government regulators have made it clear that they view high-yield crypto-lending products as unregistered securities offerings. Alabama, New Jersey, Texas and Kentucky sent cease-and-desist letters to Celsius.
The price of the original Celsius token fell sharply in the news, dropping by 41% to $0.2165 per coin.
The news is the latest sign of market pressure in the crypto sector. Bitcoin is down 6% Sunday at the time of writing, Ethereum is down 6%, BNB is down 5%, Cardano is down 6%, Solana is down 9%, and Dogecoin is down 8%.
James Hendrickson is an internet entrepreneur, addictive blogger, fisherman and personal finance expert. When he’s not lurking in the cafes in Portland, Oregon, you’ll find him in the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest. James holds an MA in Sociology from the University of Maryland in College Park and a BA in Sociology from Earlham College. Likes individual stocks, bonds, and precious metals.