Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky receives permanent trading ban following guilty plea in $5 billion customer losses case.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has permanently banned Alex Mashinsky from trading in regulated markets after resolving its 2023 enforcement action. The order also imposes a permanent registration ban on the former Celsius CEO, concluding the CFTC’s first case against a digital asset lending platform.
Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to securities and commodities fraud charges. Celsius collapsed in 2022, freezing customer withdrawals and leading to over $5 billion in losses. Civil lawsuits from the SEC, FTC, and CFTC alleged Mashinsky misappropriated approximately $42 million from customers.
Earlier this year, the FTC settled with Mashinsky, barring him from the cryptocurrency industry. The CFTC’s action reinforces regulatory scrutiny on digital asset platforms following Celsius’s bankruptcy.