Fresh Blow for Celsius with 150 Staff Reportedly Fired, But CEL Up 19%

cryptonews.com:

Another crypto lender has apparently hit the rocks, with reports claiming that the already troubled Celsius Network (CEL) has axed 150 employees.

Per the Israeli media outlet Calcalist, Celsius has previously “hired restructuring consultants and lawyers to make organizational changes to the company amid its financial issues.”

Some of the staff that have been laid off are based in Israel, the media outlet added.

The development comes almost a month after the firm announced that it was pausing withdrawals due to “extreme market conditions,” with some worried about the company’s solvency. If it is true that the firm has indeed made the job cuts, it would mean the company has parted ways with around a quarter of its workforce.

Cryptonews.com contacted Celsius for comment and was informed that, 

The firm was “working to respond to the many inquiries” it was now receiving.

Those fearing a bear-market-powered domino effect in the crypto space will have taken note that the Singapore-based trading platform Vauld – which today paused deposits and withdrawals – partially blamed its own ills on the “Celsius network pausing withdrawals.”

Celsius, which was founded in 2017, had a bumper 2021, receiving USD 750 million worth of funding at a market valuation of some USD 3 billion. Per its website, Celsius has processed USD 8.2 billion worth of loans as of May this year, with USD 11.8 billion of assets under its control.

But the pressures of mass withdrawals have taken a brutal toll on the company. The firm was quoted as stating that it was taking “important steps to preserve and protect assets and explore options available to us.”

Celsius’ “options,” it said, include “pursuing strategic transactions as well as a restructuring of our liabilities,