In January, months before the platform filed for bankruptcy, Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky took over the trading strategy operations of the crypto lender, according to the Financial Times.
The choice, according to reports, was made in advance of a meeting of the US Federal Reserve when a tapering plan was to be laid on the basis of worries about inflation. The study highlights Mashinsky’s conviction that a hawkish decision would lead to a collapse in crypto values.
In the days preceding the Fed meeting, Mashinsky personally overruled executives with decades of financial experience, according to multiple persons with knowledge of the incident who spoke to FT.
The report also describes an occasion in which the Celsius head ordered the unchecked sale of bitcoin valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, only to repurchase the position at a loss the following day.
“He was ordering the traders to massively trade the book off of bad information. He was slugging around huge chunks of bitcoin.”
While Mashinsky may have shared his ideas based on his expertise of the crypto markets, a second source with knowledge of the incident emphasized that “he was not controlling the trading desk.”