“I’m thinking of ending it”: things are getting really dark for Celsius customers who lost millions of dollars

The Suicide Prevention Hotline number is now the most popular post on the subreddit for the Celsius lending platform customers. No kidding.

Alarming messages began to appear after the reports that the company lost all clients’ funds. We’re talking about millions of dollars. Amidst the crypto winter, investors are already under constant stress. Imagine if your savings were simply taken away and could never be recovered. It is hard to imagine, and everyone reacts to the situation in different ways. 

Where is the $350 million

It was reported on July 9 that Celsius had burned through $350 million in client assets in an attempt to make money through decentralized finance protocols banking and financial services based on peer-to-peer payments through blockchain technology. 

From August 2020 to April 2021, Celsius Network entrusted its business partner, the firm KeyFi, with about $534 million in client money that was used in high-risk investment schemes, according to the investigation. The researchers found that Celsius incurred a $350 million loss in unrealized gains at the end of trading, referring to the company’s on-chain wallet activity cryptocurrency transactions that occur on the blockchain and remain dependent on the state of the blockchain for their validity. 

“If Celsius had kept the assets instead of sending them to 0xB1 an alias of the head of KeyFi, they would have been worth $1.49 billion — $350 million more than what 0xB1 returned,” says the statement.

KeyFi CEO Jason Stone previously sued the credit services provider. According to him, Celsius used customer money to influence the price of its CEL token. In doing so, the company did not hedge its risks properly, ultimately leading to a freeze in customer assets.  

Whose fault is it?

$4,153,380,951.91 — that’s how much debt Celsius owes depositors in a dollar value, according to the Reddits’ user nadafinga. It’s a lot of money, and of course, every investor would like to get it back. But who is to blame for the money being lost? It will probably come as a shock to you, but some people blame themselves. 

According to the Reddit user ptownsurfer, users can only blame themselves for what happened. 

“We didn’t read the ToS Terms of service. We avoided people on Twitter saying, ‘get your money out weeks before Celsius disabled withdraws.’ We looked the other way from the red flags. Had I had an ounce of financial savvy, I would have actually read the ToS before moving my stack over to Celsius. I blame myself for anything,” he said. 

But what about those who read the ToS and followed all the instructions? Do they have the right to be outraged and demand compensation from the company? Taking personal responsibility is good, but is it accurate for anyone to take 100% of the blame? It’s hard to argue that the company behaved criminally, regardless of the ToS, and people were misled. Did they? 

Dear Alex, get fucked

Back to the question of who to blame. Meet Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky. The man to whom many posts on the subreddit are devoted with tons of hate. Here are a few of them.

But the company’s Twitter manager is seemingly blocking those who speak against them instead of getting in touch with people. 

“My Twitter has a SINGLE post in its entire history, and it was me suggesting to someone that asked Celsius how to repay their loan on a margin call, and I said ‘don’t do it, your money is already gone, and you can’t pull it out even if you repay.’ That comment got me banned some time in the last 12–15 hours,” told the Reddit user xe-420. 

There are also rumors that the head of the company tried to leave the USA. Maybe he has already done this. But so far, the fact is that no one seems to be communicating with the victims, which could be necessary for many. Especially the ones we will tell you about below. 

“I am suicidal”

We saw it from the company’s subreddit. This is a story by a user named CelsiusAbandoned. He kept all his savings, which he had accumulated over 20 years, in Celsius. He is about to have a second child and needs to pay the mortgage. He has an emergency fund that he has been using to pay bills, food, and mortgage, but now it’s rapidly depleting. Plus, he was recently fired from his job. 

“My wife has no idea. I am so scared about what to do. I am thinking of just ending it. It would be easier than suffering through this major loss. My whole life. Gone. I don’t know where to go or what to do,” he said. 

At first, the man hoped that Celsius would continue to work hard to deliver on their promise to allow transfers, but it ended up in bankruptcy. And there are many such stories.

The better way

It’s great that when people are in a difficult situation, they can get support, even remotely. This is not the first and last crash of some companies and the case when investors suffer huge losses. Many have already been in similar situations and are willing to share their experiences. User Iamsaxgod is one of them. Here is what he recommends. 

• tell your wife (or another person close to you);
• sit down with him/her and tell them what’s up;
• when the fear starts melting away;
• make some significant moves like getting on SNAP (which provides benefits to eligible low-income individuals and families);
• that’s how you rebuild;
• never stay down;
• always get back up and keep moving;
• don’t give up;
• there’s always a better way out;
• you will find it;
• but don’t keep it to yourself; make sure you talk to someone close to you.

If you are contemplating suicide — STOP. Talk to your family/friends. Don’t make a permanent decision based on temporary feelings. 

USA National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK) 

Link to every international country’s Suicide Prevention Hotlines. 

Remember, you’re not alone!