BnkToTheFuture, together with co-founder Simon Dixon, has drawn up a plan to save Celsius. This is a similar plan that was used in 2016 to prop up the then faltering Bitfinex.
Same solution as Bitfinex
“I believe that traditional options do not offer a timely solution for Celsius. The problems surrounding Mt. Gox have still not been solved after 10 years. I believe it can only be solved with a solution that we also had for Bitfinex. There the woes were solved within 9 months with a good outcome for the users,” Simon Dixon said of the rescue plan.
I believe traditional finance will not have a timely solution for Celsius as we saw in the past with Mt. Gox that still remains unresolved 10 years later. I believe that this can only be solved with a solution using financial innovation https://t.co/FyF1Qaw6ZE
— Simon Dixon (Beware Impersonators) (@SimonDixonTwitt) June 19, 2022
“We have the experience, licenses and technology to help”
As a shareholder of and capital provider for Celsius, and because of the short-term systemic impact on those who own bitcoin, Dixon says he is “happy” to help. “We are in the ideal position to provide solutions, as we have the experience, licenses and technology to do so,” Dixon said.
Dixon’s BnkToTheFuture is an online investment platform on which investors can invest in fintech companies. At the time of writing, the platform has 85,000 qualified investors. In June 2020, Celsius organised another investment round via the platform with which it raised 20.46 million dollars (19.42 million euros) from 1039 investors.
The Bitfinex solution
Dixon thus drew the inspiration for his rescue plan for Celsius from the solution it had for Bitfinex in August 2016, which at the time lost 120,000 bitcoin in a hack. At the time, that bitcoin had a value of about $72 million. Instead of starting the normal liquidation procedure, Bitfinex decided to come up with an innovative recovery plan.
Among other things, it offered its users a BFX token with which to compensate for losses. These tokens became tradable on the open market or could be held for a future exchange value of $1 per token. This allowed users to speculate on the recovery of Bitfinex.
Later in the process, BnkToTheFuture also came up with the option of exchanging the token for shares in the company. Just over seven months later both parties could report that the plan had succeeded and that the victims could recover 75 to 100 percent of their funds.
Gamestop-like short-squeeze in the making
The Celsius community is not satisfied with this either and has started organising a Gamestop-like short-squeeze. The aim is to buy up as many Celsius tokens as possible and take them away from exchanges. By doing so, they want to push up the price and push short sellers out of their position. If they succeed, there is a possibility that the price will explode.
The Big #CELShortSqueeze Explained:
1. Buy CEL on FTX.
2. Move tokens to MetaMask.
3. Connect to 1inch and set sell limit order at $100.
4. RT. pic.twitter.com/okG0tTvumZ— Celsians (@CelsiansNetwork) June 19, 2022
The same strategy was used by members of the subreddit r/wallstreetbets in January 2021. At the time, the shares of US video game retailer Gamestop shot up to a high of around $500. A price that was around 25 times higher than the valuation at the beginning of that month.
That the community is taking these steps is no surprise. Many users currently have all or a large part of their savings tied up in the Celsius platform. The only way to save it is to somehow keep the platform alive. Organising” a short-squeeze seems to be one way of doing this.