The crypto community is in splits. Amid possible bankruptcy, crypto lending firm Celsius continues to pay weekly rewards to investors, despite having halted withdrawals. Many from the community have deemed it “insulting.”
Celsius halted withdrawals on June 13th, 2022, citing extreme market conditions. Reports surface that the company was having financial problems and may be on the verge of collapse, thus putting consumers’ cash at risk.
Investors are puzzled as to what this may mean. Their rewards are stacking up, but there is no way for them to withdraw their funds. Many took to Twitter and expressed their disappointment at the firm.
Simon Dixon, CEO, and co-founder of the online investment platform BnkToTheFuture received nearly $4,000 worth of crypto rewards but was unable to withdraw them.
Numerous consumers have raised concerns about the loan platform. Many have taken insult from the firm’s measures to continue with weekly rewards.
Meanwhile, Alex Mashinsky, CEO of Celsius Network, asserted that the funds were secure. He also said that the platform works around the clock to address the problem. However, Mike Alfred, a cryptocurrency expert, claimed on Twitter that Mashinsky was attempting to leave the nation.
Nonetheless, Celsius confirmed that the claims were untrue. They said that the team was wholeheartedly working to resolve all issues.
Moreover, there is talk about Goldman Sachs’ possible acquisition of Celsius. Goldman Sachs is reportedly working on a $2 billion economic war fund oriented at the purchase.
According to Celsius’ website, the firm is still promoting annual percentage yields (APYs) of up to 18.63% on cryptocurrency deposits, which are now undergoing redesign owing to the liquidity concerns. Many have called this unsustainable.
At the time of writing, this campaign solely provides Synthetix (SNX), the native token from the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Synthetix. The average annual percentage yield (APY) for the top stablecoins on Celsius is around 9%, but Polkadot (DOT) and Polygon (MATIC) have provided APYs as high as 11.87% and 9.52%, respectively.
Additionally, the firm offers 10% bonuses on initial deposits up to $250,000, even if the site does not yet permit withdrawals.
It is still unclear what would precisely happen to Celsius users’ funds. The company hired consultants from a management consulting firm before it may go out of business.