CFTC Seeks 90-Day Extension to Pursue Settlement Talks with Mashinsky

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for a 90-day extension to continue settlement negotiations with Alexander Mashinsky. The request was filed on November 18, 2025.

The regulator said it has been working to resolve its case against Mashinsky but requires additional time due to delays caused by the recent government shutdown and logistical challenges linked to Mashinsky’s imprisonment. If no agreement is reached within the requested period, the CFTC said it expects to seek the lifting of the current stay and pursue summary judgment on all remaining allegations.

The CFTC filed its complaint against Mashinsky and Celsius Network in July 2022. The agency accused the defendants of fraud and making material misrepresentations about the safety and profitability of Celsius’s digital-asset lending platform. The complaint alleges Celsius marketed itself as a secure, high-yield alternative to traditional banking, inducing customers to deposit digital-asset commodities.

Regulators said Celsius acted as an unregistered commodity pool operator, while Mashinsky operated as an unregistered associated person. The CFTC previously resolved its case against Celsius through a permanent injunction barring future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.

According to the complaint, Celsius and Mashinsky misrepresented risk levels and deployed customer assets into higher-risk strategies when they were unable to meet promised interest payments. Despite public claims in May 2022 that Celsius held sufficient liquidity, the platform froze withdrawals on June 12, 2022.

Celsius filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, disclosing liabilities that exceeded its assets by more than $1 billion.