Celsius founders face permanent crypto bans that could cost more than their $16.5M obligations
Celsius co-founders Alexander Mashinsky, Shlomi Daniel Leon, and (in a separate order) a third founder are now permanently barred from broad crypto and asset-services marketing and sales activities. Mashinsky and Leon cannot advertise, market, promote, offer, or distribute products or services used to deposit, exchange, invest, or withdraw assets, including through intermediaries. Goldstein’s order is narrower, targeting retail crypto products and services. All three orders ban material misrepresentations and false attempts to obtain financial institution customer data, including account details, login credentials, private keys, and wallet information. Mashinsky and Leon also need express informed consent before disclosing nonpublic personal information. The FTC said these bans match Celsius’s alleged conduct: marketing itself as safer than a bank, promising withdrawals and high yields, and falsely claiming sufficient reserves before freezing withdrawals in 2022. The orders require reporting and recordkeeping for years and extend beyond Celsius. Payment obligations total $16.5 million, with offsets available through DOJ forfeiture and bankruptcy settlements; FTC funds can support consumer redress or go to the Treasury.
