Celsius Network
BankruptLending · $CEL · born 2017 · ✝ 2022
'Unbank yourself' — then they froze the bank.
A crypto lender promising high yields on deposits. It paused withdrawals in June 2022 and filed for bankruptcy weeks later.
- Peak
- $25B assets under management
- Cause
- Bankrupt
- Year of death
- 2022
☠️ Cause of death
Yield promises funded by risky DeFi bets and illiquid positions. A $1.2B hole on the balance sheet surfaced when redemptions spiked.
📓 Lessons left behind
- —If the yield is unsustainable, you are the yield.
- —'Not your keys, not your coins' applies to lenders too.
- —Maturity mismatch kills — liquid liabilities, illiquid assets.
🌱 The idea that survived
Transparent on-chain lending
Permissionless, overcollateralized protocols (Aave, Compound) let anyone audit solvency in real time.
#yield#withdrawals-frozen#insolvency