Celsius Founder Mashinsky Gets 12 Years for Crypto Fraud

By: cryptotale org|2025/05/09 22:15:03

Mashinsky admitted guilt and received a 12-year sentence for his role in the Celsius collapse.The judge noted his past but said his actions needed strong legal punishment for fairness.He still faces other lawsuits over how Celsius operated and its effect on many customers.Alex Mashinsky, the founder of Celsius Network, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for securities and commodities fraud, marking one of the most significant convictions stemming from the 2022 cryptocurrency market collapse. US District Judge John Koeltl handed down the sentence in a Manhattan court, rejecting both the defense’s request for leniency and the prosecution’s push for a 20-year term. ALEX MASHINSKY OF CELSIUS GETS 12 YEARS IN PRISON FOR FRAUD pic.twitter.com/y1zegYQCXd— Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) May 8, 2025At 58, Mashinsky faces over a decade behind bars after admitting in December to deceiving customers and manipulating the price of Celsius’s CEL token. The prosecution argued that his actions contributed directly to Celsius’s collapse, which resulted in billions of dollars in customer losses.More than 200 victim testimonials were submitted to the court, many urging a life sentence and citing personal and financial ruin caused by Mashinsky’s actions. “Mashinsky destroyed lives,” one statement read. Still, Judge Koeltl noted mitigating factors such as Mashinsky’s military service, clean business history, and his family’s history of fleeing persecution, before declaring, “a substantial sentence is still necessary given the seriousness of the offense.”The Rise and Fall of Celsius NetworkCelsius Network attracted millions by promising double-digit returns on crypto deposits, positioning itself as a safe haven in the volatile market. However, when token values began to plummet in 2022, Celsius faced a flood of withdrawal requests it could not fulfill.Consequently, the company declared bankruptcy, sparking lawsuits and government probes into its lending practices. The fallout extended well beyond the company’s balance sheet. Investors claimed promotional tactics misled them and falsely assured their funds were secure.Moreover, Mashinsky’s legal troubles extend beyond his criminal sentencing. He remains entangled in a 180-page adversary court lawsuit and additional civil proceedings tied to Celsius’s bankruptcy. His role as the public face of Celsius has made him a central figure in broader investigations into crypto lender failures.Related: SEC Ends XRP Lawsuit With Ripple in $50M Settlement DealA Lengthy Sentence but Lingering QuestionsClad in a black suit and blue tie, Mashinsky stood before the court and accepted responsibility, but shifted some blame. “I’m taking responsibility for 1,000 employees,” he said. “No one has come forward and admitted anything they’ve done.” His defense team argued for a sentence of one year and one day, saying anything longer was a de facto life sentence due to his age.However, prosecutors cited widespread harm and demanded 20 years. Judge Koeltl ultimately delivered a sentence less than half of the 30-year maximum allowed under federal law. Still, the term is among the longest handed down for a crypto-related crime.This raises one question: Can justice alone rebuild lost trust in a beleaguered cryptocurrency industry?Mashinsky’s sentencing doesn’t mark the end of regulatory scrutiny in the crypto sector. Regulators continue to investigate how companies such as Celsius worked, and how similar collapses could be avoided in the future.The post Celsius Founder Mashinsky Gets 12 Years for Crypto Fraud appeared first on Cryptotale.

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Mixin has launched USTD-margined perpetual contracts, bringing derivative trading into the chat scene.

The privacy-focused crypto wallet Mixin announced today the launch of its U-based perpetual contract (a derivative priced in USDT). Unlike traditional exchanges, Mixin has taken a new approach by "liberating" derivative trading from isolated matching engines and embedding it into the instant messaging environment.

Users can directly open positions within the app with leverage of up to 200x, while sharing positions, discussing strategies, and copy trading within private communities. Trading, social interaction, and asset management are integrated into the same interface.

Simplified Trading Experience: No KYC Required, Opening a Position in Five Steps

Based on its non-custodial architecture, Mixin has eliminated friction from the traditional onboarding process, allowing users to participate in perpetual contract trading without identity verification.

The trading process has been streamlined into five steps:

· Choose the trading asset

· Select long or short

· Input position size and leverage

· Confirm order details

· Confirm and open the position

The interface provides real-time visualization of price, position, and profit and loss (PnL), allowing users to complete trades without switching between multiple modules.

Social-Native Trading: Strategy and Execution Completed in the Same Context

Mixin has directly integrated social features into the derivative trading environment. Users can create private trading communities and interact around real-time positions:

· End-to-end encrypted private groups supporting up to 1024 members

· End-to-end encrypted voice communication

· One-click position sharing

· One-click trade copying

On the execution side, Mixin aggregates liquidity from multiple sources and accesses decentralized protocol and external market liquidity through a unified trading interface.

By combining social interaction with trade execution, Mixin enables users to collaborate, share, and execute trading strategies instantly within the same environment.

Referral Mechanism: Non-institutional users can receive up to 60% fee split

Mixin has also introduced a referral incentive system based on trading behavior:

· Users can join with an invite code

· Up to 60% of trading fees as referral rewards

· Incentive mechanism designed for long-term, sustainable earnings

This model aims to drive user-driven network expansion and organic growth.

Self-Custody Architecture and Built-in Privacy Mechanism

Mixin's derivative transactions are built on top of its existing self-custody wallet infrastructure, with core features including:

· Separation of transaction account and asset storage

· User full control over assets

· Platform does not custody user funds

· Built-in privacy mechanisms to reduce data exposure

The system aims to strike a balance between transaction efficiency, asset security, and privacy protection.

A New Path for On-Chain Derivatives

Against the background of perpetual contracts becoming a mainstream trading tool, Mixin is exploring a different development direction by lowering barriers, enhancing social and privacy attributes.

The platform does not only view transactions as execution actions but positions them as a networked activity: transactions have social attributes, strategies can be shared, and relationships between individuals also become part of the financial system.

Regulatory Background

Mixin's design is based on a user-initiated, user-controlled model. The platform neither custodies assets nor executes transactions on behalf of users.

This model aligns with a statement issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 13, 2026, titled "Staff Statement on Whether Partial User Interface Used in Preparing Cryptocurrency Securities Transactions May Require Broker-Dealer Registration."

The statement indicates that, under the premise where transactions are entirely initiated and controlled by users, non-custodial service providers that offer neutral interfaces may not need to register as broker-dealers or exchanges.

About Mixin

Mixin is a decentralized, self-custodial privacy wallet designed to provide secure and efficient digital asset management services.

Its core capabilities include:

· Aggregation: integrating multi-chain assets and routing between different transaction paths to simplify user operations

· High liquidity access: connecting to various liquidity sources, including decentralized protocols and external markets

· Decentralization: achieving full user control over assets without relying on custodial intermediaries

· Privacy protection: safeguarding assets and data through MPC, CryptoNote, and end-to-end encrypted communication

Mixin has been in operation for over 8 years, supporting over 40 blockchains and more than 10,000 assets, with a global user base exceeding 10 million and an on-chain self-custodied asset scale of over $1 billion.

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