Celsius Bans New Transfers by US Nonaccredited Investors From Earning Crypto Rewards

Cryptocurrency lender Celsius is banning new transfers from nonaccredited investors on its U.S. platform from earning rewards on its program effective Friday.

Starting April 15, only “accredited” U.S. investors will be able to add new assets and earn rewards on Celsius' Earn platform, said the company. To be deemed accredited in the U.S., investors must have a minimum annual income of $200,000 or a net worth over $1 million.
The company said all existing U.S. users – whether accredited or nonaccredited – will continue to earn rewards as long as the coins are in their Earn account prior to April 15.
Those deemed nonaccredited will have their coins held in custody, where they won’t earn rewards but can continue to swap, borrow and transfer within those custody accounts based on their local jurisdiction.
“As we previously have acknowledged, Celsius has been working closely with regulators around the world. It is our intention to be as transparent with our community as possible,” the company said in a blog post Tuesday. “More specifically, we have been in ongoing discussions with United States regulators regarding our Earn product. As a result, there will be changes to the way our Earn product will work for users based in the United States.”
U.S. users wishing to post coins as collateral against a loan opened prior to April 15 will see their assets returned to their accounts when the loan is repaid, the company added.
The company is currently facing several legal investigations from regulators in various U.S. states on allegations its lending and earn programs might be in violation of securities laws.
CEL, the native token of the Celsius Network, is trading at $2.62 at press time, down from $2.69 24 hours ago, according to Messari.

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Michael Bellusci

Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto reporter focused on public companies and digital asset firms.

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