Celsius founder Mashinsky gets lifetime ban from U.S. commodity markets, CFTC closes the book 🥶

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has secured a permanent trading and registration ban against Celsius founder and former CEO Alex Mashinsky, concluding its civil enforcement action over the collapsed crypto lender. A consent order entered by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York permanently prohibits Mashinsky from violating certain anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act and imposes lifetime restrictions on his participation in regulated U.S. commodity markets.

Under the settlement, Mashinsky admitted to violating Section 6(c)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act and related CFTC anti-fraud regulations. The order permanently bars him from trading commodity interests, entering commodity-related transactions, and controlling trading accounts. It also prohibits him from soliciting funds for commodity trading, registering with the CFTC in any capacity, and acting as a principal, employee, officer, or agent of any entity registered with the agency.

The CFTC said the injunction resolves the final outstanding claims against Mashinsky following its enforcement action against Celsius. The regulator alleged that between 2018 and 2022, Mashinsky and Celsius misrepresented the safety of customer deposits while promoting the platform as a secure alternative to traditional banking. According to the complaint, Celsius pooled customer crypto assets and deployed them into increasingly risky investment strategies while continuing to assure users that their funds were safe. The agency said Celsius ultimately received approximately $20 billion in customer assets before filing for bankruptcy.

The order closes out the CFTC's July 2023 lawsuit, which accused Mashinsky and Celsius of misleading customers about the safety, profitability, and regulatory status of the company's crypto lending platform. Mashinsky pleaded guilty in December 2024 to one count of commodities fraud and one count of securities fraud in a parallel criminal case. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in May 2025 and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine, along with the forfeiture of approximately $48.4 million.