Celsius touted itself as better than a bank. Now the crypto firm is filing for bankruptcy.
CBSN
Celsius Network filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday after a "crypto winter" — or crash — that decimated the value of digital currencies including bitcoin and ethereum. The company said most accounts will continue to be "paused until further notice."
Celsius is the third crypto-related firm to file for bankruptcy protection in two weeks. It follows Three Arrows Capital and lender Voyager Digital in seeking financial restructuring after digital currencies plunged in value. Celsius marketed itself as a type of crypto bank, encouraging people to deposit their digital currencies with the firm, and then earning money by either borrowing or lending against the crypto deposits.
Troubles for Celsius' customers started when the network halted trading and other activities last month amid the crypto meltdown, effectively blocking customers from accessing their funds. The decision shocked customers who had been told by Celsius that the platform was low-risk and secure, all while providing earnings as high as 17%. In its sales pitch, Celsius pledged "Your interests are our top priority" and stressed that traditional banking "is broken."
A cybercriminal group claims it stole personal data belonging to more than 500 million Ticketmaster customers. Although the event ticketing service, owned by Live Nation Entertainment, hasn't confirmed the attack, security experts warn that it could put users of the platform at risk for a range of scams.
Two climbers were waiting to be rescued near the peak of Denali, a colossal mountain that towers over miles of vast tundra in southern Alaska, officials said Wednesday. Originally part of a three-person team that became stranded near the top of the mountain, the climbers put out a distress call more than 30 hours earlier suggesting they were hypothermic and unable to descend on their own, according to the National Park Service.
There's no making up for what Olympic hurdler Lashinda Demus lost on the day she finished .07 seconds behind a Russian opponent who, everyone later learned, was doping. What the American 400-meter hurdles champion will finally receive is a great day under the Eiffel Tower where she'll be presented with the gold medal she was denied 12 years ago at the London Olympics.