The founders of Celsius are required to pay the FTC $6 million for misleading clients.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made significant progress in the case against the co-founders of the bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius. Shlomi Daniel Leon and Hanoch Goldstein are required to pay the regulator over $6 million as part of a settlement related to false claims about the platform's security.
Specifically, Leon must pay $4.1 million, and Goldstein $2.014 million. Additionally, both are banned from promoting or selling any products and services related to asset and cryptocurrency operations. These payments are part of a broader settlement valued at $4.72 billion, which was previously reached.
What lies behind this decision?
As a reminder, Celsius actively attracted clients for several years by promising high interest yields on cryptocurrency deposits. However, as the FTC investigation showed, the company systematically misled users by claiming their funds were under reliable protection. In reality, the platform pursued a risky lending policy that ultimately led to its collapse in July 2022.
The $6 million sum is only a small fraction of the damage suffered by depositors, who lost billions of dollars. However, it is important that the FTC continues to pursue top managers personally, not just corporate entities. This sets a precedent that should sober up other market participants prone to aggressive marketing without proper risk management.
My comment: In my view, this decision is not so much financial compensation as a signal for the entire industry. Personal responsibility for leaders of DeFi and CeFi platforms is becoming the new standard. Those who build businesses on promises of "guaranteed returns" without real auditing and transparency will sooner or later face consequences that can destroy their reputation and personal wealth.