The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has completed enforcement proceedings against Celsius Network founder Alex Mashinsky. Under a court-approved consent order, he is permanently barred from participating in U.S. markets regulated by the CFTC and from registering with the agency.
The ban covers commodities, futures, and derivatives trading. Regulators say Mashinsky and Celsius misrepresented the platform's security, profitability, and compliance to a large number of clients, thereby attracting billions of dollars into their crypto lending business.
CFTC completes enforcement
The CFTC stated that Celsius promoted itself as a safe and reliable platform during its operations but failed to adequately disclose the risks inherent in its business model and investment strategies. Regulators believe these statements misled hundreds of thousands of customers.
Celsius collapsed during the 2022 market downturn, leaving many users unable to withdraw their funds. This case became one of the representative cases in which US regulators pursued the liability of crypto lending platforms.
He had previously been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Mashinsky faces more than just the CFTC case. In May 2025, he pleaded guilty to securities fraud and commodity fraud charges related to Celsius's financial situation and business practices, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Earlier this year, he also reached a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding another complaint. Under the FTC's order, he has been permanently banned from working or conducting business in the cryptocurrency and financial services industry.
The SEC civil lawsuit is still ongoing.
In addition to the aforementioned cases, the civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Mashinsky is still ongoing. The SEC accuses him of conducting unregistered securities offerings, making false statements about Celsius's operations and security measures, and manipulating the price of the platform's token, CEL.
The regulator told the federal court that the two sides are still in settlement negotiations, but no agreement has been reached yet.
Meanwhile, Mashinsky is still trying to overturn his sentence. In filings at the end of May, he asked the court to overturn his 12-year sentence, citing reasons including ineffective defense and government misconduct affecting key evidence. He also claimed that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was involved in manipulating the price of the CEL token.
