Last week, crypto lender Celsius Network, which was already suffering from a massive cash shortage, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York -- an action that came after a similar filing in the same court by crypto broker Voyager Digital. Both firms' filings came weeks after they paused customer withdrawals, citing "extreme market conditions."
Voyager Digital's filing was largely in response to the failure of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, otherwise known as 3AC.
Court filings noted that Celsius had at least a $1.2 billion deficit on its balance sheet, with a total of around $5.5 billion in liabilities -- $4.7 billion of which were customer holdings. In addition, the firm had $4.3 billion in most illiquid assets, per Coindesk, which reported: "Though the company has already begun to make good on its debt to institutional creditors, retail investors have been left in the dark and will likely bear the brunt of Celcius' failing."
In that vein, a number of letters from Celsius holders who are now trapped with worthless 'assets' have been published on the bankruptcy case website and tracked by journalist Molly White, who posted some of them to Twitter.
"This has ruined people beyond comprehension... The marketing lies, the deceit, and the lack of accountability will be paid in blood by many... [Mashinsky] preyed on fears of losing money during the next economic downturn and lied about how our money/assets were managed," one holder noted.
47: "This has ruined people beyond comprehension... The marketing lies, the deceit, and the lack of accountability will be paid in blood by many... [Mashinsky] preyed on fears of losing money during the next economic downturn and lied about how our money/assets were managed."
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) July 21, 2022
"Like many investors, I have lost a large chunk of my life savings and struggle to live daily with devastation and extreme stress of watching on the sideline feeling powerless over my money, which I entrusted with Celsius to manage," another wrote.
50: "Like many investors, I have lost a large chunk of my life savings and struggle to live daily with devastation and extreme stress of watching on the sideline feeling powerless over my money, which I entrusted with Celsius to manage."
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) July 21, 2022
"I only have about $3500 (at today’s value as of July 19th). But for me it is a very large amount. It is approximately ½ of my investment portfolio. The only reason I put it there was because I thought Celsius was safe. I was only earning 3-5% on my BTC/ETH," yet another wrote.
64: "I only have about $3500 (at today’s value as of July 19th). But for me it is a very large amount. It is approximately ½ of my investment portfolio. The only reason I put it there was because I thought Celsius was safe. I was only earning 3-5% on my BTC/ETH..."
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) July 21, 2022
Still another holder noted: "I am a Celsius customer with a little over $15k worth of deposits that are locked up in Celsius. $15k may not mean a lot to some people, but it is about 65% or my life savings.... Losing all of my savings will have irreparable consequences on the well-being of myself..."
65: "I am a Celsius customer with a little over $15k worth of deposits that are locked up in Celsius. $15k may not mean a lot to some people, but it is about 65% or my life savings.... Losing all of my savings will have irreparable consequences on the well-being of myself..."
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) July 21, 2022
"Everything now seems to be a blatant lie. Mr. Mashinsky and the company were deceiving a lot of people, including myself for years. This has an immense impact on my life," another customer wrote.
Cryptocurrencies and the investment houses and lenders involved with it appear to be collapsing about as fast as the craze began. And now, millions of Americans are losing everything they had.
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