Regulators in several U.S. jurisdictions are investigating Celsius Network Ltd., which last week cut all transactions and withdrawals for nearly two million of its customers, sending cryptocurrencies into a global boom. In a blog post Monday, Celsius said it would “take time” to normalize operations as it worked with officials to reach a resolution on the self-described cessation of lending and cryptocurrency investment services. This means that customers around the world are still unable to withdraw their money from the New Jersey-based platform, while a wider industry disaster sends digital assets and brands like bitcoin down to levels they have not seen before. in 2020. Securities regulators in Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas, Alabama and Washington have confirmed to The Globe and Mail that they are now investigating the matter. Officials said the investigation was in the early stages, but could not provide further details because it was active. The US Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment. Celsius has long touted itself as “the world’s leading cryptocurrency lending and lending platform” and held more than $ 11 billion in assets last month, before abruptly shutting down services on June 13, citing “extreme market conditions.” Among its major investors around the world is Canadian pension fund giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which invested $ 400 million in degrees Celsius as part of a funding round late last year. Celsius did not respond to requests for comment from The Globe. On Friday, Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky canceled his appearance at Collision, the global technology conference starting in Toronto this week. Also that day, Mr. Mashinsky canceled a Ask Me Anything (AMA) YouTube session just minutes before it aired. “We are shutting down our Twitter Spaces and AMAs to focus on navigating these unprecedented challenges and seeking to fulfill our responsibilities to our community,” Celsius wrote in a blog post on Monday. He warned people to watch out for social media accounts that claim to be affiliated with the company. “We want our community to know that our goal continues to be to stabilize our liquidity and operations. This process will take time. “ Bitcoin has fallen 37 percent this month and more than 57 percent this year. It recently fell well below the psychologically significant $ 20,000 level – hovering around $ 18,000 on Saturday and Sunday, before recovering to just under $ 20,000 on Monday. This price level is symbolic, as it was about the peak of the 2017 cycle before the bottom fell. Meanwhile, the ether, the second most popular cryptocurrency, fell below the symbolically significant level of $ 1,000 this weekend. On Monday, the ether rose to about $ 1,100. Your time is precious. Deliver the Top Business Headlines newsletter to your inbox in the morning or evening. Register today.
