Crypto community confused as Celsius Network continues with weekly rewards
The struggling Celsius Network has baffled members of the cryptocurrency community on Twitter by continuing to pay weekly incentives despite stopping withdrawals two weeks ago.
As was previously reported, on June 13 the cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius halted withdrawals due to "severe market circumstances" brought on by the current bear market. Reports that the company was having financial problems and may be on the verge of collapse, thus putting consumers' cash at risk, quickly surfaced.
Why is @CelsiusNetwork still paying rewards if apparently they are talking bankruptcy? Why not pause rewards and set a low withdrawal limit? Is it me or does that make too much sense?
— Crypto V (@crypto_kid2021) June 27, 2022
Simon Dixon, the CEO, and co-founder of the online investment platform BnkToTheFuture and an early adopter of Bitcoin (BTC) tweeted his confusion to his 59,300 followers on June 27 after getting cryptocurrency incentives worth around $4,000 but being unable to withdraw them:
Email on one of my accounts. Can’t withdraw but @CelsiusNetwork are still paying out. I’m curious if you think the rewards should still be coming? Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/7Rym9yrq2f
— Simon Dixon (Beware Impersonators) (@SimonDixonTwitt) June 27, 2022
Numerous users have expressed concerns about the loan site on Twitter while searching for "Celsius still paying." Some, like "CryptoStylesUSA," have called it "insulting" because Celsius still pays weekly prizes while holding their "crypto prisoner."
This is honestly insulting, @CelsiusNetwork is still paying weekly rewards while holding my crypto hostage. pic.twitter.com/Cst0iqNkDc
— CryptoSteve.eth (@CryptoStylesUSA) June 27, 2022
The firm is still promoting annual percentage yields (APYs) of up to 18.63 percent on cryptocurrency deposits, which many have said is unsustainable, according to Celsius' website, which is now undergoing redesign owing to the liquidity concerns.
This promotion currently exclusively provides the SNX native token from the decentralized finance (Defi) platform Synthetix. The average annual percentage yield (APY) for the top stablecoins is around 9%, but Polkadot (DOT) and Polygon (MATIC) have given APYs as high as 11.87% and 9.52%, respectively.
Additionally, it looks that Celsius is still giving 10% bonuses on first deposits up to $250,000 even though the site does not yet permit withdrawals by customers.
Even though it's still unclear what would happen exactly to Celsius users' money, the company apparently hired consultants from a management consulting firm before it may go out of business. On June 14, Celsius also engaged attorneys to aid in the company's restructuring due to its financial difficulties.
On June 27, allegations surfaced that Celsius CEO Alex Mashinksy had reportedly tried to flee the country through Morrison Airport in New Jersey but had been prevented from doing so by law enforcement. Although it appears that the information came from crypto researcher Mike Alfred, the company has apparently refuted the allegations.