A farmer in Ireland who could lose his land. An American who is contemplating suicide. The life savings of an 84-year-old widow were lost: People who were affected by the cryptocurrency lender Celsius’s collapse are appealing for their money back.
Hundreds of letters filled with rage, guilt, despair, and frequently regret have flooded in to the judge managing the company’s multibillion-dollar bankruptcy.The client whose letter was unsigned stated, “I understood there were hazards.” “It felt like a risk worth taking.”
The platform was promoted by Celsius and its CEO Alex Mashinsky as a secure location where users could store their cryptocurrency in exchange for a high rate of interest while the company lent out and invested those deposits.
However, when the value of extremely volatile cryptocurrencies fell—bitcoin alone has lost over 60% of its value since November—the company encountered more and more issues until it decided to halt withdrawals in the middle of June.
