PANews reported on April 29 that the U.S. Department of Justice requested a 20-year prison sentence for Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius Network, for planning a fraud that resulted in nearly $7 billion in customer losses. The sentencing will be held on May 8.

Prosecutors stressed that his actions were "deliberate and carefully planned" fraud, not negligence. Celsius managed more than $20 billion in customer assets in 2021, but went bankrupt in 2022 due to unsecured loans and risky transactions, freezing about $4.7 billion in customer funds.