cryptonews.com
Another crypto lender has apparently hit the rocks, with reports claiming that the already troubled Celsius Network (CEL) has axed 150 employees.
Per the Israeli media outlet Calcalist, Celsius has previously “hired restructuring consultants and lawyers to make organizational changes to the company amid its financial issues.”
Some of the staff that have been laid off are based in Israel, the media outlet added.
The development comes almost a month after the firm announced that it was pausing withdrawals due to “extreme market conditions,” with some worried about the company’s solvency. If it is true that the firm has indeed made the job cuts, it would mean the company has parted ways with around a quarter of its workforce.
Cryptonews.com contacted Celsius for comment and was informed that,
The firm was “working to respond to the many inquiries” it was now receiving.
Those fearing a bear-market-powered domino effect in the crypto space will have taken note that the Singapore-based trading platform Vauld – which today paused deposits and withdrawals – partially blamed its own ills on the “Celsius network pausing withdrawals.”
Celsius, which was founded in 2017, had a bumper 2021, receiving USD 750 million worth of funding at a market valuation of some USD 3 billion. Per its website, Celsius has processed USD 8.2 billion worth of loans as of May this year, with USD 11.8 billion of assets under its control.
But the pressures of mass withdrawals have taken a brutal toll on the company. The firm was quoted as stating that it was taking “important steps to preserve and protect assets and explore options available to us.”
Celsius’ “options,” it said, include “pursuing strategic transactions as well as a restructuring of our liabilities, among other avenues.”
It warned:
“These exhaustive explorations are complex and take time, but we want the community to know that our teams are working with experts from many different disciplines.”
The company further stated that its “relationship with the community and clients” was “a source of pride for all team members at Celsius,” and that it would “continue to share information with our customers as and when it becomes appropriate.”
Celsius has also stated that it is “working as quickly” as it can to “stabilize liquidity and operations.”
Meanwhile, per CoinGecko data, the 102nd coin per market capitalization, CEL, is trading up 19.1% over the past 24 hours, for a price of around USD 0.89 at the time of writing (10:21 UTC). This percentage is substantially higher than those seen by the majority of the top 100 coins. CEL is up more than 12% in a week and more than 10% in a month, while it's down 87% in a year.
The coin was seen rising in late June when a company shareholder, the founder of the crypto-focused investment firm Bnk to the Future Simon Dixon, proposed a recovery plan, and Celsius made a USD 10m payment to the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Compound (COMP).
____
Learn more:
- Celsius' Option
- Celsius’ Positions are Now Healthier, Three Arrows Capital Was a 'Victim of Contagion' - Nansen
- CEL Token Soars as Celsius Shareholder Proposes Recovery Plan, Celsius Pays Compound
- Not Enough Liquidity for Celsius to Sell Staked Ethereum in Open Market - Analyst
- Celsius Reportedly Unlikely to Get Bailout Money from Investors
- Celsius Reportedly Taking Advice from Citigroup, CEO Mashinsky Calls for ‘Patience’ and 'Support'