Celsius CEO personally directed crypto trades months before bankruptcy: Report
Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky reportedly “took control” of trading strategy at the crypto lending firm amid January rumors the United States Federal Reserve planned to hike interest rates.
According to a Tuesday report from the Financial Times, Mashinsky personally directed individual trades and overruled financial experts in an effort to protect Celsius from anticipated declines in the crypto market. The Celsius CEO reportedly ordered the sale of “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of Bitcoin (BTC) in one instance, rebuying the coins less than 24 hours later at a loss.
Alex Mashinsky took control of Celsius trading strategy months before bankruptcy https://t.co/AnydQiZLCC
Mashinsky’s actions also reportedly affected his professional relationship with Frank van Etten, the then chief investment officer of Celsius, with whom he “clashed repeatedly” over trading strategy. The Financial Times reported a person familiar with the matter said the Celsius CEO “had a high conviction of how bad the market could move south” and wanted staff “to start cutting risk” in any way possible prior to the Fed meeting.
Reports at the time suggested the Federal Reserve could implement rate hikes in January, but the central bank did not confirm it would be doing so until March. While there was still some volatility in the crypto market following the announcement, the price of major tokens didn’t crash for two months, with BTC falling below $30,000 in May and later under $20,000 in June.
One of the Individuals reportedly familiar with the events at Celsius said Mashinsky was “not running the trading desk” — seemingly not taking a heavy hand on trades — but rather expressing his opinions on the crypto market to influence strategy. Another person
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