Alexander Mashinsky founded Celsius Network and served as its chief executive. In that role he was the platform's public voice, marketing it directly to retail customers as a place to deposit crypto assets in exchange for rewards. The Securities and Exchange Commission's July 2023 complaint names him as founder and former chief executive of Celsius Network Limited.
He pleaded guilty on 3 December 2024 before US District Judge John G. Koeltl in the Southern District of New York. On 8 May 2025 the same judge sentenced him to 12 years in prison for committing commodities fraud and securities fraud at Celsius, with three years of supervised release, a $50,000 fine and forfeiture of $48,393,446. The Department of Justice's account of the conduct covers misrepresentations about the safety and profitability of the business, and the purchase of Celsius's own CEL token to support its price.
The Federal Trade Commission announced on 20 July 2026 that a stipulated final order filed in the Southern District of New York requires him to pay $10 million and bars him from marketing or selling products used to deposit, exchange, invest or withdraw assets.
He is profiled here because the Celsius entry rests on that record, and for no other reason.