Crypto Lender Celsius Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer Leon Resigns: Report

Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky also resigned last week.

Oct 4, 2022 at 7:44 p.m. UTC

Updated Oct 5, 2022 at 3:51 p.m. UTC

Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether.

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Crypto lender Celsius Network co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer S. Daniel Leon resigned Tuesday. He is the latest executive to depart the company after now-former CEO Alex Mashinsky.

Leon is stepping down amid Celsius's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, the Financial Times reported. Mashinsky resigned exactly a week ago. Celsius filed for bankruptcy in New York in July, and now faces an inquiry from an investigator appointed by the U.S. Trustee's office and authorized by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Leon's departure was hinted at by YouTuber Tiffany Fong, who previously shared audio from two leaked all-hands meetings at the company. In one, Mashinsky and other executives proposed a custody-focused recovery plan, dubbed "Kelvin." In another, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Nuke Goldstein suggested Celsius create "IOU" tokens for its customers.

The U.S. Trustee's office – and some Celsius creditors – have alleged the company has been less than forthcoming regarding its financial situation. The inquiry is intended to investigate these claims.

Earlier this month, the Financial Times also reported that Mashinsky withdrew about $10 million in crypto from the company in May – weeks before Celsius halted customer withdrawals and a little over a month before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections.

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