Alex Mashinsky, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network, has resigned. In a Tuesday press release, Mashinsky said that he has tendered his letter of resignation to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Celsius Network and is no longer the CEO of the company.
“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,” the former CEO said.
Mashinsky has been replaced by Chris Ferraro, who will perform the company’s CEO duties in the interim.
Mashinsky Reportedly Contributed to Celsius’ Losses
Meanwhile, a report published last month suggested that Alex Mashinsky contributed to Celsius’s downfall by failing to properly oversee some activities that resulted in losses for the firm.
Recall that the company is one of several other crypto companies that were greatly affected by the Terra ecosystem’s collapse. Celsius went bankrupt as it suffered huge losses at the time and is yet to fully recover from its financial troubles.
Among the several actions carried out by the former CEO, he oversaw the sale of millions of BTC without verifying the accurate holdings of the company. Then the sold bitcoins were bought back at higher prices.
The company also purchased some Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), sometime in 2021 but then later sold the digital products at a price short of $100 million of the original purchase price.
According to reports, these financial activities amongst others which resulted in losses for Celsius and contributed to its bankruptcy were carried out under the oversight and direction of Mashinsky.
Mashinsky Proposed Recovery Plan
Alex Mashinsky’s announcement of his resignation comes barely two weeks after he proposed plans to help Celsius Network recover from its troubles.
The outgoing CEO suggested that if the company wants to come back strong, it should return to the public not as a crypto lender but as a crypto custodian. This means that Celsius should store and secure digital assets on behalf of investors and then charge fees on certain types of transactions.
