Alex Mashinsky
Born 1965 · Age 61
Israeli‑American serial entrepreneur best known as cofounder and former CEO of Celsius Network; involved in telecom startups (VoiceSmart, Arbinet, GroundLink, Transit Wireless) and later convicted of securities and commodities fraud related to Celsius.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Alexander Mashinsky was born to a Jewish family in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine).
Family emigrated from Soviet Union to Israel (1970s)
His family obtained permission to leave the USSR in the 1970s and moved to Israel.
Entrepreneurial early activity: resold confiscated airport goods
As a teenager he bought confiscated goods at Ben Gurion Airport auctions and resold them for profit.
Started Israeli military service (Golani Brigade; pilot training)
Served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1984 to 1987; trained as a pilot and served in the Golani Brigade.
Moved to the United States
Relocated from Israel to New York City to pursue business opportunities.
Trading business in chemical contracts
Ran a business trading contracts for delivery of chemicals (urea, gold, sodium cyanide); business slowed after Tiananmen Square 1989.
Worked at A+ Systems (voicemail software)
Employed at A+ Systems, a company making computer-based voicemail software for carriers.
Founded VoiceSmart (early VoIP company)
Founded VoiceSmart, one of the first companies to offer telecom switches supporting ordinary voice and VoIP routing.
Identified telecom minutes as a commodity market
By 1993 he recognized potential for a commodity market for international telephone capacity.
Founded Arbinet (telecom minutes exchange)
Launched Arbinet, an electronic marketplace for trading VoIP telephone minutes and later data connectivity.
Arbinet launched data-connectivity marketplace
In November 1997 Arbinet began offering a service to exchange unused data bandwidth (T1 lines) at its New York hub.
Arbinet growth through 1999 (bandwidth merchant era)
Arbinet was a pioneering exchange for telecom capacity during the late 1990s telecom/Internet boom.
Arbinet public markets valuation (reported ~2004)
Arbinet had significant public-market attention; some sources report a peak market cap hundreds of millions by mid-2000s.
Founded GroundLink (on-demand limo/car-booking)
Founded GroundLink as a service to book limousines and car services via computer and smartphone (source lists 2004).
Sold stake in Arbinet and reinvested proceeds
Sold his stake in Arbinet in 2005 and used part of the proceeds to found or expand GroundLink and other ventures.
Founded Q‑Wireless (later part of Transit Wireless)
Founded Q‑Wireless; later Q‑Wireless became one of the companies forming Transit Wireless to install wireless service in NYC subway.
GroundLink partnership and Wi‑Fi initiatives (JV and Gogo tie‑ins)
Organized a joint venture with car service companies and partnered with Gogo Inflight Internet to offer promotions and install ad-funded Wi‑Fi.
Transit Wireless awarded NYC subway contract to install cell/Wi‑Fi
By ~2010 his company had a contract to install wireless/cell/Wi‑Fi service at 277 below‑ground NYC subway stations.
Comvest acquired a majority stake in GroundLink
Private equity firm Comvest bought a majority interest in GroundLink (June 2011), after which Mashinsky became vice chairman.
Named to Novatel board of directors
Appointed to the board of Novatel (provider of Wi‑Fi hotspot products) in April 2014.
Appointed CEO of Novatel
Became CEO of Novatel in June 2014.
Left Novatel as CEO
Departed Novatel in October 2015 after approximately 16 months as CEO.
Hired as Global CEO of RTX (London fintech telecom)
Joined RTX as Global CEO in September 2016; left after ~six months following disputes.
Cofounded Celsius Network (crypto lending platform)
Cofounded Celsius Network, a centralized cryptocurrency lending/borrowing platform that later promised high yields to depositors.
Begins 'Ask Mashinsky Anything' weekly livestream
As Celsius CEO he hosted weekly AMAs on YouTube where he answered community questions and promoted Celsius.
CEL token initial coin offering (ICO) reported
Celsius launched its CEL token via an offering in March 2018; some sources report ~$50M raised in that token offering.
Wife Krissy launches usastrong.IO (e‑commerce)
Krissy Mashinsky launched usastrong.IO, selling USA‑made items and later controversial 'Unbankrupt Yourself' shirts after Celsius collapse.
On‑chain sales of CEL tokens (Arkham estimate)
Arkham Intelligence estimated Mashinsky sold roughly $44M worth of CEL tokens on exchanges (June 2021–May 2022 period).
Spoke at Bitcoin 2021 conference and promoted Celsius
Active public speaker/evangelist for Celsius at major crypto conferences (Bitcoin 2021 in Miami cited).
Celsius exceeds 1 million users and reports massive AUM
By October 2021 Celsius reported over 1 million users; fall 2021 assets under management reported as high as ~$25 billion (reported peak).
Took control of Celsius trading strategy
Reportedly took control of the company's trading strategy and made large trading decisions in January 2022.
Withdrew $10 million from Celsius
Withdrew $10M from Celsius in May 2022; company would later pause withdrawals and file bankruptcy.
Celsius pauses customer withdrawals
Celsius suspended all customer withdrawals, swaps and transfers on June 12, 2022 citing extreme market conditions.
Celsius files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Celsius filed Chapter 11 on July 13, 2022; company reported about $4.7B in customer claims and a ~$1.19B balance‑sheet hole.
Resigned as CEO of Celsius
Mashinsky resigned as CEO on September 27, 2022; interim CEO was appointed to lead restructuring.
New York Attorney General filed civil lawsuit
NY AG filed suit on Jan 5, 2023 alleging securities fraud and seeking fines, damages and industry bans under the Martin Act.
Court examiner publishes 470‑page report critical of Celsius and Mashinsky
Court‑appointed examiner Shoba Pillay filed a major report describing alleged fraud, poor controls, and contradictory public statements.
SEC charges and DOJ indictment; arrested in SDNY
On July 13, 2023 the SEC charged Mashinsky and Celsius with securities violations; DOJ indicted and he was arrested on multiple fraud and manipulation charges.
Celsius agrees $4.7 billion settlement with FTC (reported)
On the same day as the July 2023 charges Celsius agreed to a $4.7B settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (reported).
Pled guilty to commodities and securities fraud
Mashinsky pleaded guilty in SDNY to one count of commodities fraud and one count of securities fraud and agreed to forfeiture (~$48M).
Public profile: patents and speaking career noted (Gotham listing)
Speaker pages and bios claim he holds over 50 patents and list speaker fees ($30k–$50k); these claims are public‑facing and partially disputed.
Family and personal status: spouse and children
Prior to incarceration he lived in New York City with his wife Krissy and six children; wife ran usastrong.IO and sold 'Unbankrupt Yourself' shirts after Celsius bankruptcy.
Sentenced to 12 years in federal prison
On May 8, 2025 Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment (SDNY) for fraud and market manipulation.
Incarcerated at FCI Fort Dix (BOP records)
BOP inmate locator lists Mashinsky as incarcerated at FCI Fort Dix.
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