AllYouCanTech

Celsius founder took out $10 million before pausing withdrawals and filing for bankruptcy

Things keep looking sketchier and sketchier for the crypto lender Celsius Network.

On Sunday, the Financial Times reported that Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky had withdrawn $10 million from his crypto lending company just weeks before it froze withdrawals for its customers.

Back in June, Celsius was one of the first major crypto institutions to feel the effects of the crypto crash caused by the failure of the stablecoin Terra and its sister cryptocurrency Luna. Celsius, which advertised high yields to clients that invested their crypto funds with the company, assured customers that there were no issues as rumors of insolvency began to spread online. The crypto lender would pause all withdrawals and freeze customer accounts just days later.

Celsius would go on to file for bankruptcy in July. When filing, the crypto lender said it had around $167 million cash on hand. Approximately $4.7 billion is owed to Celsius customers. 

A spokesperson for Mashinsky confirmed the withdrawal to the Financial Times but added that Mashinsky still had “$44 million in crypto assets” frozen alongside his customers’ funds.

Regardless, a $10 million withdrawal from its founder just weeks before the company would deny its customers the ability to do the same, sure looks sketchy. And that’s not the only aspect of Celsius that’s a problem.

While cryptocurrency critics have long called out Celsius’ high yields paid out to investors as resembling a Ponzi scheme, the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation bolstered those claims by alleging pretty much the same.

In a filing on Celsius’ bankruptcy, the agency writes that “this shows a high level of financial mismanagement and also suggests that, at least at some points in time, yields to existing investors were probably being paid with the assets of new investors.”

Paying out existing investors with the funds coming in from new investors…is a Ponzi scheme.

Crypto companies like Celsius long advertised their services as benefitting the little guy and helping those ignored by the old financial institutions. Mashinsky’s incredible foresight in withdrawing $10 million from his company right before Celsius froze accounts is just more evidence refuting those claims.

How to enable two-factor authentication on every social platform (and yes, you should)

One of the best ways to protect your accounts from unauthorized intruders is to set up two-factor authentication (aka 2FA) for them. 2FA is an extra layer of security that makes it so a hacker needs more than just your username and password to get into your account.

2FA usually plays out as a company sending a randomly generated number to your phone via SMS and asking you to enter it on the screen when you’re logging into an account for the first time on a new device. 

As social media platforms are some of the most common sites of account hacks and login shenanigans, taking a little bit of time right now to turn on all these 2FAs will potentially save you time and headaches in the future.

2FA on Facebook

To set up 2FA on Facebook, first enter your settings menu (the gear icon) that appears when you click your profile photo at the top right of the screen on desktop or the burger menu icon (three small lines stacked on each other) on mobile. Once on the settings page, click “security and login” near the top of the left sidebar menu.

Credit: Screenshot: Facebook

Credit: Screenshot: Facebook

Then scroll down and click “use two-factor authentication.” On the next page, you can select one of three ways to authenticate.

Credit: Screenshot: Facebook

2FA on Instagram

Since both are Meta platforms, Insta’s process is fairly similar to Facebook’s. First, tap the burger menu icon on the top right of your profile page. Next, tap the gear icon to get to settings. Then you’ll need to choose “security.” After that, just select “two-factor authentication” and you’re nearly home free.

Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

Once again, you’ll be asked to select your preferred additional factor.

2FA on Twitter

Credit: Screenshot: Twitter

From the Twitter settings menu (accessed by clicking the gear icon), you should click on “security and account access.” Then just “security.” Next, you’ll see a box that explains what two-factor authentication does. Click the “>” symbol to the left of that paragraph to enter Twitter’s 2FA menu and turn it on.

2FA on TikTok

In your TikTok profile page, tap the burger menu icon at the top right, then “settings and privacy” on the menu that pops up below. On the next page, select “security and login.” Then tap “two-step verification.”

Credit: Screenshot: TikTok

Credit: Screenshot: TikTok

All that’s left to do on the following page is select your preferred method.

2FA on Snapchat

Some of you out there are still using Snapchat, so you might as well be safe while you do so. To turn on 2FA there, tap the gear icon in “my profile.” Next, tap “two-factor authentication.” Then select “continue.” From there, you just need to choose whether you want to use SMS or an authentication app.

2FA on YouTube

Your YouTube account is tied to your Google account, so 2FA may already be turned on there. Google push two-factor pretty hard. On the off chance it isn’t, go into your account’s profile page by clicking on your profile photo. Next click “security” on the left sidebar menu. Scroll down a tiny bit and you’ll see a “Two-Step Verification” toggle switch in a box titled “Signing in to Google.”

Credit: Screenshot: YouTube

On the next page, you’ll see an explainer about 2FA. Click “get started.” After that, you’ll be asked to sign into your account again as an extra layer of security. From there, you’ll just have to select the method you’d like to use and confirm with a test run.

Credit: Screenshot: YouTube

OK, now all your social accounts are locked down. Browse and lurk without worrying about someone breaking into your account (just don’t accidentally like your former fling’s 2013 summer camp photo).

Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

This week, our first place winner is an anonymous comment about Texas’s content moderation law, responding to the claim on Twitter that Wikipedia could easily comply with it by being more open and transparent: Tell me you don’t understand how Wikipedia works without telling me you don’t understand how Wikipedia works. I mean, Wikipedia is

All electric vehicles by 2035 could be impossible without new battery tech

No current battery technology will get us to CA’s goal of 100% electric vehicles by 2035. We need to make big, smart bets on new tech.

If you liked Netflix’s pulse-pounding thriller Lou, binge these 4 movies next

Netflix on September 23 debuted Lou, an action-thriller that put star Allison Janney in a role that couldn’t be more strikingly different from her celebrated turn as the indefatigable White House press secretary in NBC’s landmark drama The West Wing. In this new release from Netflix, there are no suits or speaker’s podium to be …

The post If you liked Netflix’s pulse-pounding thriller Lou, binge these 4 movies next appeared first on BGR.

Despite the venture slowdown, fintech startups are still hiring

Welcome to The Interchange! If you received this in your inbox, thank you for signing up and your vote of confidence. If you’re reading this as a post on our site, sign up here so you can receive it directly in the future. Every week, I’ll take a look at the hottest fintech news of the previous

Best iPhone 14 cases available for purchase [Updated: Fabric-wrapped, new designs, more]

Blockchain could repair our broken global supply chain

How next-generation blockchains that combine blockchain and cloud technology can address critical problems in the global supply chain.

Our 5 most anticipated new releases on Disney Plus in October

The weather might be cooling down, but the release schedule on Disney Plus is heating up as we head into the fall. Some of the streaming service’s biggest shows and movies of 2022 are debuting in October, so we wanted to highlight a few of them. Below, you can find our most anticipated new releases …

The post Our 5 most anticipated new releases on Disney Plus in October appeared first on BGR.

Cabinet of Curiosities’ New Trailer Sets the Scary Stage

October means Halloween, and Halloween means horror movies and shows to watch. The month boasts some upcoming projects that are sure to be delightful such as the second season of Chucky and Werewolf by Night, and Netflix is getting into the occasion with a new show, Cabinet of Curiosities. Created and produced by …

Read more…