The Dow Jones S&P 500 Index rises after a volatile week

Minutes before the launch of Celsius Network LLC CEO Alex Mashinsky’s weekly “AMA” – or “Ask Mashinsky Anything” – Friday noon, the video was removed from YouTube.

This dashed the hopes of customers who were anxiously waiting to hear from the crypto lender, who told customers Sunday night that it was temporarily halting all withdrawals, exchanges and transfers between accounts due to “extreme market conditions.”

“While we overcome some very difficult challenges, we will be pausing the AMAs for now so Celsius can focus on this very important work for the community,” said Mr. Mashinsky, 56, in a pre-recorded report. video.

Celsius claims to have $11.7 billion in assets across 1.7 million customers. On Thursday, the company said it was “working around the clock” to address the issue but did not provide any details on when withdrawals would resume.

The Wall Street Journal mentioned Celsius has hired restructuring lawyers to help deal with its mounting financial problems.

Prior to the AMA’s cancellation, more than 2,000 users were discussing Celsius in a YouTube chat box. Some were disappointed by Mr. Mashinsky’s silence.

“I’m sure your AMA would have been tough, but you should have done it. Shame on you and Celsius for escaping from society. Lots of openness and transparency. I lost my support and I hope to God,” said one of the people with the username ‘dasgigler’. Never lose my encryption.

Other crypto companies They are also under pressure. Babel Finance, a Hong Kong-based crypto lending and trading firm, said Friday that it will suspend redemptions and withdrawals from all products, citing “extraordinary liquidity pressures.”

“We are in close contact with all relevant parties and will share updates in due course. Babel Finance has no exposure to Melsius,” a company spokesperson said.

Also on Friday, crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital said that He appointed legal and financial advisors To explore options including asset sales and bailouts by another company. The hedge fund suffered huge losses from selling cryptocurrencies.