Celsius Lays Off 150 Employees As Withdrawal Freeze Drags: Report

Celsius has reportedly downsized its workforce as the troubled cryptocurrency lender continues to battle potential bankruptcy.

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • Celsius is still blocking customer withdrawals and transfers, three weeks after they were first paused
  • In its latest update, Celsius said it’s exploring options and looking to restructure liabilities

Celsius has joined a series of cryptocurrency firms to lay off employees as plunging prices and market contagion hits high-profile names.

The troubled cryptocurrency lender has let go of 150 employees, Israeli news outlet Calcalist reported on Sunday. These include employees in Israel. 

Celsius’ latest headcount update, from April 2021, showed over 200 employees across New Jersey, London, Tel Aviv, Cyprus and Serbia. The Hoboken-headquartered firm’s LinkedIn displays about 650 listed employees.

On the basis of the LinkedIn figure, the reported layoffs would represent a 23% cut to its workforce. Celsius didn’t immediately return Blockworks’ request for comment.

Launched in 2017, Celsius operates similarly to a bank, albeit with more risk and higher yields. The company gathers crypto deposits from customers and loans them to retail and institutional borrowers, as does stressed rivals Voyager and BlockFi. Customers then receive payments from the revenue Celsius gains from its loans. 

The network promises high-yield returns on deposits, as much as 18.6% annually. It claimed to have around $12 billion in assets under management in May and $8 billion in loans processed. 

Celsius first sparked fears of a liquidity crisis when it paused withdrawals and transfers on its platform on June 12. It hasn’t resumed withdrawals more than three weeks later, leaving users frustrated

The firm has reportedly resisted advice from its own lawyers to file for bankruptcy and is relying on a show of support from users to help it avoid the elaborate process.

Blockworks also learned that Goldman Sachs was looking at helping an institutional investor raise about $2 billion to acquire Celsius’ distressed assets at a discount. 

Celsius’ last update came in a blog on June 30, in which it said the firm was working on stabilizing liquidity and operations.

“We continue to take important steps to preserve and protect assets and explore options available to us,” the firm wrote. “These options include pursuing strategic transactions as well as a restructuring of our liabilities, among other avenues.”

Celsius’ native token CEL is down 80% so far this year, but is up 8.7% in the last month at $0.89 as of Monday at 1:30 am ET, per Blockworks Research data.

In any case, Celsius finds itself on a growing list of crypto companies to downsize over the past month.

Coinbase cut 1,100 staff (about 18% of its team) and rescinded job offers; BlockFi laid off about 20%; Gemini let go of roughly 100 employees; Singapore-based Crypto.com reduced staff by 5% and Singapore-based Vauld cut its headcount by 30%.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) represent low-hanging fruit in a massive market ripe for Web3-driven disruption. The global CDN market was valued at ~$28B in 2024, and is projected to surpass $140B by 2034, (18.75% CAGR) underscoring the immense demand for efficient content delivery.

article-image

The next step in Blockworks’ evolution into a data powerhouse increases customizability and autonomy over their high quality charts and data

by Westie /
article-image

Sponsored

With early interest from an initial cohort of brands including Metaplex, Story Protocol, and Pipe Network, Shelby offers decentralized, cloud-speed storage for streaming, AI, and real-time content

article-image

The $135 million raise shows that TradFi giants are serious about crypto adoption

article-image

The banking system still processes payments like it’s 1975. Crypto might have a fix.

article-image

Fiserv’s launch follows Senate passage of the GENIUS Act for stablecoin regulation.

article-image

Bitcoin is emerging as “the new standard for long-term corporate resilience,” Swan Bitcoin CIO says