Unbankyourself: the high-yield pitch
Founded in 2017 by Alex Mashinsky, Daniel Leon, and Nuke Goldstein, Celsius Network positioned itself as a consumer-friendly alternative to banks, urging customers to 'Unbankyourself.' Users deposited crypto and earned advertised yields of up to roughly 17% per year, paid partly in the company's own CEL token, while Celsius lent against crypto collateral and deployed deposits to generate returns. A March 2018 initial coin offering raised about $50 million. Mashinsky, a charismatic promoter, hosted weekly 'Ask Mashinsky Anything' sessions and repeatedly assured depositors their funds were safe, building a base that reached 1.7 million customers across more than 100 countries.
From $3 billion to $25 billion in assets
Celsius scaled rapidly during the 2020-2021 bull market. Assets under management grew from about $3.3 billion in December 2020 to a peak of roughly $25 billion by October 2021. That same month, Celsius announced a funding round led by growth-equity firm WestCap and Canada's Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), valuing the company at more than $3 billion; the round was reported at $400 million and later expanded toward $750 million. Critics, including some regulators, warned that the yields were unsustainable and that the model resembled an under-collateralized bank without deposit insurance, but the warnings were drowned out by the rising market.