Celsius Network is a centralized, one-stop finance platform that lets cryptocurrency users lend and borrow fiat currency and stablecoins using crypto assets as collateral. The ticker symbol and name of its native ERC-20 token is CEL.
Celsius allows you to deposit cryptocurrency into the Celsius wallet, apply for loans, pay interest on loans at a discount, and earn interest rewards by lending crypto assets.
Borrowing from Celsius is conducted using US Dollars or stablecoins at an annual percentage rate (APR) as low as 1 percent, with users' crypto holdings acting as collateral without credit checks. The platform supports over 40 cryptocurrencies, including BTC and ETH, and stablecoins, such as USDT and USDC.
Depending on the cryptocurrency, users can earn high interest of up to 17 percent annual percentage yield (APY) by storing crypto in a Celsius savings account.
Celsius is a centralized platform with several security measures, including password protection, two-factor authentication (2FA), and biometric security. Furthermore, users cannot withdraw over $150,000 without manual verification.
In December 2020, Celsius Network partnered with Chainalysis to execute an audit that provided the first third-party verification of Celsius Network's assets (worth $3.31 billion at the time). On top of that, on August 5, 2021, Celsius partnered with Chainlink to become one of the first CeFi platforms to issue loans based on an entirely decentralized and transparent pricing mechanism.
Celsius has built its infrastructure to offer customizable services for businesses, family offices, and high-net-worth clients. As of October 22, 2021, Celsius claims over 1 million community members, more than $26.88 billion in community assets, and $8.20 billion in loans processed.
CEL price and tokenomics
CEL is a pre-mined token with a total token supply of over 695 million. In its initial coin offering held in March 2018, 40 percent of tokens were allocated in a presale at $0.20 per token. Meanwhile, another 10 percent were distributed via a public sale at $0.30 per token.
CEL's price and tokenomics are based on a symbiotic relationship between institutional traders who borrow and pay the fees in CEL and crypto holders who receive interest on lent coins. This dual-sided system drives the demand-supply cycle of the token.
About the founders
Alex Mashinsky is the co-founder and CEO of Celsius. He has founded seven NYC-based startups, two of which were among the city's top 10 venture-backed exits since 2000. Mashinsky is also associated with over 30 patents relating to exchanges, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, and more.
The co-founder and COO of Celsius, Daniel Leon, has co-founded and led multiple companies. He has also worked in notable roles, like managing partner at Governing Dynamics and CEO of Atlis Labs.
Syed Fazli, the CTO of Celsius Network, had worked in various engineering and leadership roles at Bloomberg before joining Celsius.
In addition, Celsius has strategic partnerships with several well-known crypto organizations, including Voyager, Bitfinex, Liquid, Monarch, and many more.