Celsius Co-founder Daniel Leon Resigns
- Celsius filed for bankruptcy in July, days after halting withdrawals.
- The crypto lender was affected by the collapse of the TerraUSD and Luna tokens and other factors that tested its business model.
- The company’s employees claim Celsius’s decline was caused by several high-profile errors by the firm’s leadership.
Daniel Leon, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Celsius Network, has reportedly announced his resignation, joining a string of executives who have left troubled digital asset companies. Leon’s resignation comes a week after Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky announced his decision to step down from his role. Celsius confirmed Leon’s departure in a message to Bloomberg. They wrote,
We confirm that Daniel Leon resigned from his position at Celsius and is no longer part of the organization.
Leon and Mashinsky founded Celsius in 2017 and together built one of the biggest crypto lending firms. However, Celsius has been under investigation by several American states since it filed for bankruptcy in July. At the time, the lending company was said to be $1.9 billion in debt.
According to reports, the bankruptcy judge recently ordered an examiner to investigate claims of misconduct and mismanagement on the part of the company’s executives. Several employees have previously pointed fingers at Mashinsky for his “careless” actions and poor decisions, which are believed to have put the crypto lender in a bad spot.
At the height of its power, Celsius was seen as a main rival to traditional banks. The platform hoped to compete with established financial institutions by allowing users to invest their coins and earn interest on them. The company often dismissed concerns associated with such an investment.
According to a filing made on Monday, Celsius is presently taking bids for its assets and may decide to hold an auction on October 20. The date of the sale hearing is scheduled for November 1. Notably, cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried is reportedly considering acquiring the assets.
The crypto industry is not only suffering from one of its most intense bear markets but also an unprecedented change in leadership. Leon’s departure from Celsius follows the recent stories of other top executives leaving their roles since July.
Some executives, including the former CEO of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor, the CEO of Kraken, Jesse Powell, the president of FTX US, Brett Harrison, the CEO of Genesis, Michael Moro, and managing director Matthew Ballensweig, have migrated into less prominent advisory roles.
Some, like former Alameda Research co-CEO Sam Trabucco, Ignite CEO Peng Zhong, and bankrupt Voyager Digital CFO Ashwin Prithipaul, have completely altered course.
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