Celsius co-founder Daniel Leon is leaving
Controversial crypto lender Celsius Network Ltd. has lost another top member when co-founder Daniel Leon resigned this week.
The crypto lender that filed for bankruptcy early this year said in a statement Tuesday to Bloomberg News, “We confirm that Daniel Leon resigned from his position at Celsius and is no longer part of the organization.”
His departure comes a week after the company’s CEO, Alex Mashinsky, submitted a resignation letter last week.
As appears from a press release from the company, the letter of resignation was handed over to the company’s special committee for the board.
In his resignation letter, Mashinsky said: “With immediate effect, please accept my resignation as CEO of Celsius Network Ltd, as well as my directorships and other positions in each of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, with the exception of my directorship of Celsius Network Ltd.
CNBC reported, citing an internal email, that Lior Koren, the company’s former global tax director, is taking over and operating out of Israel.
Celsius went bankrupt after leaving thousands of investors in limbo. The company has also made risky bets before the fall in cryptocurrency prices. In July, the company disclosed a loss of $1.19 billion.
In a recent update, the judge presiding over the bankruptcy case appointed an outside investigator to look into allegations of misconduct against the company and its management.”
Celsius’ business model was built in a way to challenge traditional banks. It allowed people to invest in their crypto coins and gain interest in them.
Celsius is currently accepting bids for its assets and may consider conducting an auction on Oct. 20, according to a Monday filing.
According to Blockchain.News, based on a filing with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, the deadline for the final bid is set for October 17, but if necessary, it will be pushed to October 20.
According to a source familiar with the matter, Sam Bankman-Fried – the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of digital-asset exchange FTX – is considering bidding for the assets of bankrupt lender Celsius Network.
A sales hearing is scheduled for November 1.
Celsius recently revealed that it did not plan to ask its debtors to pay their outstanding loans during the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, Blockchain.News reported.
Founded in 2017, Celsius provided interest-bearing products to cryptocurrency owners who deposited their money, with returns as high as 18.6% annually. In turn, the company would lend cryptocurrencies to get profit.
Mashinsky co-founded Celsius Network with Daniel Leon back in 2017, and the firm grew to become one of the most famous crypto lending platforms in the crypto world.
Before the freeze, Celsius was one of the largest crypto-lending platforms, with more than $8 billion in customer loans and nearly $12 billion in assets under management. The firm had attracted 1.7 million customers by offering returns as high as 17% on crypto deposits.
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