Celsius’ Mashinsky gets permanent trading ban in CFTC settlement
The CFTC has settled its case against Celsius Network founder Alex Mashinsky, permanently banning him from trading in US commodities, futures, and derivatives and from ever registering with the regulator. The order ends the agency’s 2023 enforcement action and bars him from markets the CFTC oversees. The CFTC said Mashinsky and Celsius defrauded hundreds of thousands of customers by falsely portraying Celsius as safe, profitable, and compliant. The case was the agency’s first against a digital asset lending platform. Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison in May 2025 after pleading guilty to securities and commodities fraud tied to Celsius’ collapse in 2022. He already agreed to a separate FTC ban covering work involving financial products, and he still faces an SEC case over alleged unregistered securities offerings, misstatements, and CEL token manipulation.
