The chief executive of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius has called it quits.
Alex Mashinsky, the head of Celsius, tendered a letter of resignation to the firm’s Board of Directors. His abrupt departure is more noticeable as Celsius still struggles to repay creditors following its bankruptcy.
Mashinsky Steps Down As Celsius CEO
Alex Mashinsky is no longer the CEO of Celsius.
A press release on Tuesday revealed that Mashinsky had resigned from his position with immediate effect.
“I elected to resign my post as CEO of Celsius Network today. Nevertheless, I will continue to maintain my focus on working to help the community unite behind a plan that will provide the best outcome for all creditors — which is what I have been doing since the Company filed for bankruptcy,” Mashinsky posited.
The company’s chief financial officer, Chris Ferraro, has been appointed as the interim CEO and chief restructuring officer.
In his official letter, Mashinsky stated that he regretted how much of a “distraction” his presence had become as Celsius’ chief executive. Mashinsky added that he was “very sorry” about the financial challenges that the company’s customers are facing since its downfall earlier this year.
The Celsius Liquidity Crisis
Celsius’ troubles started after the crypto lender paused all customer withdrawals and swaps in June amid a harsh crypto winter. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a month later, disclosing it had a $1.2 billion hole in its balance sheet.
Celsius was notably one of the many prominent crypto lenders to go bust after Terra’s dollar-pegged algorithmic stablecoin UST lost its peg. Three Arrows Capital, Vauld, Voyager Digital, BlockFi, and Genesis Trading all suffered during a multi-month crypto liquidity crisis.
Nearly two weeks ago, Celsius requested the court’s permission to sell its stablecoin holdings amounting to $23 million. The insolvent crypto lender company hopes to use the proceeds of the sale to finance its daily operations.
Prior to that, Mashinsky had floated the idea of rebranding Celsius to “Kelvin”. Under the new plan, the company would pivot away from crypto lending and become a custodial services provider.