- Celsius froze all customer accounts on June 13.
- Since then, there have been fears that Celsius could go broke.
- Now CEO Alex Mashinky has commented on the events in public for the first time.
After Celsius froze all customer accounts, CEO Alex Mashinsky commented for the first time on the more than disturbing events. Mashinsky assured that Celsius is doing everything in his power to rectify the difficult situation. His team is working around the clock on a solution.
Thus, Mashinsky did not address any of the issues discussed in the media, but primarily tried to give comfort to investors. The feedback on his statement shows that many retail investors actually have to worry about amounts that are existential for them.
After Terra collapses, the entire industry has to face another fire test. If Celsius should fail, then this should be deeply imprinted in the collective memory and inhibit future growth of the market. The fact that Celsius published a blog post last week, in which they claimed to be liquid, further damages the trust.
stETH becomes a risk
Staked Ether (stETH) still plays a special role in the drama that is now unfolding. Because Celsius has invested a large sum in the token. With stETH, investors and companies can already participate in Ethereum staking and remain liquid at the same time. For each stETH token, investors are entitled to receive ETH as soon as the merge is carried out and Ethereum switches to proof of stake.
Until then, stETH retains approximately the same value as ETH, but unlike a stablecoin, it is not pegged to it. Instead, the price is based on demand and supply, as well as the thought that at some point in the future you can exchange stETH for ETH.
Currently, the difference to ETH is around 6% and thus the gap is already opening up a little further than a few days ago. The fear is that stETH will collapse and Celsius will lose a significant part of its own liquidity.
What’s next?
A report by the Wall Street Journal suggests that Celsius is currently looking for investors to stay afloat. Restructuring also seems to be an option.
If the company should actually suffer an insolvency, then this would probably be fatal for retail investors. They do not enjoy any special protection, but would then have to join a long queue of creditors. It is foreseeable that it would be a lengthy process, which should also be associated with some effort. For example, the bankruptcy of the New Zealand stock exchange Cryptopia has shown that the settlement of claims not only takes years, but can be quite a complex case.
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