Alex Mashinsky
Born 1965 · Age 60
Israeli–American serial entrepreneur, inventor and cofounder/former CEO of Celsius Network; early VOIP pioneer and founder of multiple telecom and fintech ventures; convicted of securities and commodities fraud in relation to Celsius.
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Life & Career Timeline
Family emigrated from Soviet Union to Israel
Mashinsky's family obtained permission to leave the USSR in the 1970s and moved to Israel.
Early entrepreneurial activity at Ben Gurion Airport auctions
As a teenager he bought confiscated goods at airport auctions and resold them for profit.
Enlisted / served in Israeli Army (Golani Brigade)
Served in the Israeli Army from 1984 to 1987; trained as a pilot and served in Golani Brigade.
Trading business: commodity/chemicals contracts
Ran a business trading contracts for delivery of chemicals (e.g., urea, sodium cyanide). Business slowed after 1989 Tiananmen impacted Chinese exports.
Moved to the United States (New York City)
Immigrated to the U.S. and settled in New York City to pursue business opportunities.
Worked at A+ Systems (voicemail software)
Worked at A+ Systems, a PC-based voicemail software company for phone carriers — early telecom/voicemail experience.
Founded VoiceSmart (early VOIP company)
Founded VoiceSmart, one of the first companies to offer computer-based voice and early Voice over IP (VoIP) phone service.
Recognized VoIP as a potential commodity for telephone capacity
By 1993 Mashinsky realized the potential for a commodity market in international telephone capacity — a precursor to Arbinet.
Founded Arbinet (VoIP marketplace)
Founded Arbinet, a marketplace allowing telecom carriers to trade international minutes and bandwidth — an early internet exchange for voice.
Arbinet began offering data connectivity trading
In November 1997 Arbinet expanded to allow more than 400 T1 lines in its NY hub to exchange unused bandwidth (data connectivity).
Received Technology Foresight Award (Telecom 99)
Awarded the Technology Foresight Award for Innovation presented in Geneva at Telecom 99 (reported in profiles).
Received Albert Einstein Technology Medal
Reported recipient of the Albert Einstein Technology medal for innovation (circa 2000).
Founded Comgates (softswitch technology; spinoff)
Co-founded Comgates, producing softswitch software to connect VoIP networks (spin-off technology from Arbinet).
E&Y 'Entrepreneur of the Year' nomination (first)
Nominated by Ernst & Young as Entrepreneur of the Year (reported nomination years include 2002 and 2011).
Arbinet IPO (NASDAQ symbol ARBX)
Arbinet went public in 2004 — one of Mashinsky’s major exits; media reported a market capitalization in the hundreds of millions (~$750M cited in interviews).
Founded GroundLink (on-demand car/limousine booking)
Founded GroundLink as a service to book on-demand limousines and car services from computer or smartphone.
Elematics exit (network virtualization company)
Reported sale/exit of Elematics (a network virtualization startup Mashinsky founded earlier) circa 2004.
Sold stake in Arbinet; used proceeds to start GroundLink
Sold his stake in Arbinet in 2005 and reinvested part of the profits into GroundLink.
Raised capital for GroundLink (~$35M)
Raised funding for GroundLink; interviews indicate he raised about $35M for the company across rounds.
Transit Wireless project financial commitment (license payment reported)
Press reported Transit Wireless agreed to pay the MTA (reported figure in press articles at the time ~US$46M license payment) as part of the subway wireless concession.
GroundLink joint venture with LimoRes; free Wi‑Fi initiative
Organized a 2010 joint venture between GroundLink and several limo companies, along with LimoRes (a company he founded), to install free Wi‑Fi in vehicles funded by advertising.
Q-Wireless / Transit Wireless awarded NYC subway wireless contract
Q-Wireless (one of Mashinsky's companies, later part of Transit Wireless) received a contract to install wireless/cell/Wi‑Fi service at roughly 277 below-ground NYC subway stations (project awarded by ~2010).
Named Crain's Top Entrepreneur (2010 list)
Recognized by Crain's New York Business as a top entrepreneur in 2010.
Transit Wireless project usage milestone (millions daily)
Transit Wireless network later used by millions of subway riders daily; company reported millions of daily users benefiting from wireless connectivity in NYC subways.
GroundLink partnership with Gogo Inflight Internet
Partnered with Gogo to offer complimentary inflight Wi‑Fi passes to travelers who booked a GroundLink limousine while aboard a US flight.
E&Y 'Entrepreneur of the Year' nomination (second)
Reported second nomination by Ernst & Young as Entrepreneur of the Year (2011).
Advised at NJ Tech Meetup / entrepreneur talks
Participated in entrepreneur meetups and advised founders (Transit Wireless founder advising entrepreneurs referenced in 2012 coverage).
Named to Novatel Wireless board of directors
Appointed to Novatel Wireless board (provider of Wi‑Fi hotspot products).
Appointed CEO of Novatel Wireless (Inseego)
Appointed permanent CEO of Novatel in June 2014; led a turnaround that included significant recapitalization.
Recapitalized Novatel (raised ~$120M quickly)
Reportedly helped raise about $120 million in recapitalization to stabilize Novatel while CEO.
Left (terminated from) Novatel CEO role
Departed Novatel after ~1.5 years as CEO; later said termination related to refusal to relocate to San Diego.
Hired as Global CEO of RTX (London-based fintech)
Joined London-based financial-telecom fintech RTX as Global CEO in September 2016.
Celsius ICO raised (~$50M reported)
Celsius conducted an Initial Coin Offering and raised close to $50 million (reported figure).
Founded Celsius Network (cryptocurrency lending platform)
Founded Celsius Network to offer crypto borrowing/lending and high interest on digital asset deposits; company slogan 'Unbank Yourself'.
Left RTX after ~6 months
Left RTX about six months after joining following disputes with management (per later deposition).
Celsius launched service; began weekly 'Ask Mashinsky Anything' livestreams
Celsius launched services to the public and Mashinsky hosted weekly YouTube livestreams answering user questions and promoting Celsius.
High-profile public speaking & media presence (ongoing)
Frequent keynote speaker and media presence promoting Celsius and decentralization; listed on speaker rosters (e.g., Gotham Artists), appeared at conferences (e.g., Milken discussions referenced in press).
Celsius product milestone: offered high yields (up to ~18.6% in marketing)
Celsius marketed interest rates for crypto deposits reported as high as 18.6% on some assets and routinely offered competitive yields to attract depositors.
Patents / inventions accumulation milestone (ongoing)
Profiles note Mashinsky as the named inventor on dozens of patents (variously reported as 34–50+ patents) across VOIP, ad exchanges, smart grid and fintech concepts.
Celsius rapid growth during pandemic
Celsius experienced dramatic growth during the COVID‑19 pandemic, reportedly expanding assets under management from roughly $1B to multiple billions within a year.
Celsius reported >1M customers and ~US$20B AUM (company claim/media reports)
Media/CEO Magazine reported Celsius managing around US$20 billion in assets and over one million customers after pandemic-era growth.
Celsius announced >US$1B paid to community in yields
Company announced it had paid over US$1 billion in digital assets to its user community (reported November, year unspecified in profiles; commonly cited as 2021).
Personal: wife Krissy Mashinsky runs usastrong.IO; 'Unbankrupt Yourself' controversy
Mashinsky lives in NYC with wife Krissy (Kristine Meehan) and six children. After Celsius bankruptcy, Krissy ran retailer selling 'Unbankrupt Yourself' shirts drawing controversy.
Publicity stunts & high profile behavior during Celsius era
Known for weekly livestreams, wearing 'Banks are not your friends' T-shirts, publicity stunts (including attempting to vandalize a Chase Bank branch) while CEO.
Mashinsky withdrew US$10 million from Celsius (reported)
In May 2022 Mashinsky withdrew $10M from Celsius; company was experiencing large customer withdrawals by then.
Celsius paused customer withdrawals
Celsius paused customer withdrawals amid liquidity crisis (pause occurred about one month before Chapter 11 filing in July 2022).
Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Celsius Network filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 13, 2022 after freezing withdrawals and reporting insolvency pressures.
Arkham Intelligence reported Mashinsky sold CEL tokens (~US$44M estimate)
Investigative reporting/analytics (Arkham Intelligence) estimated Mashinsky sold approximately $44M worth of CEL tokens through exchanges (timeframe tied to 2022 disclosures/reports).
Resigned as Celsius CEO
Mashinsky resigned as Celsius CEO on September 27, 2022; Chris Ferraro was appointed interim CEO during bankruptcy proceedings.
New York Attorney General civil lawsuit filed
New York AG Letitia James filed a civil complaint on Jan 5, 2023 accusing Mashinsky of securities fraud under the Martin Act and seeking fines, damages and a bar from securities-related roles.
Court-appointed examiner's report filed (Shoba Pillay)
Examiner Shoba Pillay filed a 470-page report (plus ~200 pages appendices) critical of Celsius operations and Mashinsky's conduct, alleging 'blatant fraud' and internal contradictions with public claims.
Celsius agreed to US$4.7 billion settlement with FTC (company-level)
The same day the SEC/DOJ actions occurred, Celsius Network agreed to a reported US$4.7 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
SEC charged Mashinsky and Celsius; DOJ indictment and arrest
On July 13, 2023 the SEC charged Mashinsky and Celsius with violating federal securities laws; the U.S. DOJ/SDNY also indicted and federal authorities arrested Mashinsky for alleged fraud and market manipulation.
Pleading guilty to commodities and securities fraud; agreed forfeiture
On December 3, 2024 Mashinsky pleaded guilty to one count of commodities fraud and one count of securities fraud and agreed to forfeit US$48 million.
Sentencing hearing delayed (request by defense)
Sentencing originally set for April 8, 2025 was delayed at defense request to allow additional sentencing materials (reported April 2025).
Sentenced to 12 years in federal prison
On May 8, 2025 Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to securities and commodities fraud.
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