Celsius, a centralized cryptocurrency distribution platform, claims to have paid over $ 250 million in rewards to 415,000 users, underscoring the rapid growth of blockchain lending protocols.
Celsius announced the milestone in a press release on Monday highlighting the company’s significant growth over the past two years. “Celsius remains one of the fastest growing financial companies as it hits new milestones every week,” the company said.
Unlike decentralized financial protocols, Celsius offers a centralized alternative that allows users to place crypto assets on their platform. The deposited assets are lent to exchanges and market makers, with the vast majority of interest payments being distributed to depositors.
By November 2020, Celsius had reportedly been giving out more than $ 80 million in crypto rewards to depositors. That number appears to have more than tripled after Monday’s press release.
Celsius users have the opportunity to earn weekly rewards of up to 18.5% annual percentage return on over 40 crypto assets. The company now manages over $ 8 billion in cryptocurrency assets.
Alex Mashinsky, Co-Founder and CEO of Celsius, said:
“Celsius was designed to act in the best interests of the community and we have consistently provided honest, transparent, and rewarding financial services.”
Celsius’s continued growth helped Mashinsky rank in the Cointelegraph Top 100 in 2021. Not only did Mashinsky help put Celsius Network on the map in 2020, but he also helped secure $ 20 million in crowdfunding from over 1,000 investors. The platform’s native token, CEL, far outperformed most major cryptocurrencies over the past year.
