CFTC Permanently Bans Alex Mashinsky From Commodity Markets

CFTC case closes after Celsius enforcement action

Mashinsky admitted to violating Section 6(c)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act and related CFTC anti-fraud regulations under the settlement. The CFTC said the injunction resolves the final outstanding claims against him following the agency’s enforcement action against Celsius.

The order resolves the CFTC’s July 2023 lawsuit, which accused Mashinsky and Celsius of misleading customers about the safety, profitability and regulatory status of the company’s crypto lending platform. The agency alleged that from 2018 to 2022, Mashinsky and Celsius misrepresented the safety of customer deposits while promoting Celsius as a secure alternative to traditional banking.

According to the CFTC’s complaint, Celsius pooled customer crypto assets and deployed them into increasingly risky investment strategies while still telling users their funds were safe. The CFTC said Celsius ultimately received approximately $20 billion in customer assets before filing for bankruptcy.

The CFTC said in a statement that “Mashinsky and Celsius engaged in a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of customers” by misrepresenting the safety, profitability and regulatory compliance of Celsius’ digital asset-based finance platform.

The CFTC also said that during the wider 2022 crypto collapse, Celsius suffered “devastating losses” while continuing to tell customers their assets were safe and earning rewards.

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Criminal case and other regulatory actions

Mashinsky was arrested in 2023 after U.S. prosecutors alleged he defrauded customers and misrepresented Celsius’ profitability. He pleaded guilty in December 2024 to one count of commodities fraud and one count of securities fraud in a parallel criminal case.

Mashinsky was sentenced in May 2025, with the criminal penalty also including a $50,000 fine and forfeiture of approximately $48.4 million. The CFTC did not add new fines in the final settlement, leaving the permanent registration and trading ban as the key additional restriction.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also sued Celsius and Mashinsky in 2023, alleging that they raised billions through fraudulent and unregistered sales of crypto assets. The SEC allegations also included claims that Celsius and Mashinsky repeatedly lied to investors about Celsius’ financial standing and manipulated the price of CEL, the company’s native token.

The Federal Trade Commission also pursued Mashinsky. Before the CFTC resolution, Mashinsky reached a $10 million settlement with the FTC, which said Mashinsky and other Celsius executives engaged in “deceptive and unfair acts or practices” when marketing crypto lending and custody services.

Celsius operated as a crypto lender that let customers earn interest and take out loans. The company filed for bankruptcy during the broader crypto industry collapse, then was later wound down in 2024, with part of the process using some funds to create a new Bitcoin mining company called Ionic Digital.

The CFTC order leaves Mashinsky blocked from re-entering the regulated U.S. commodity ecosystem through trading, registration, fund solicitation, account control or employment at a CFTC-registered entity. The case now stands as a layered enforcement outcome across criminal prosecution, securities claims, consumer-protection action and commodities regulation.