US federal prosecutors have filed statements from hundreds of victims in their case against Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the defunct crypto lender Celsius Network.

The recently sworn-in interim US Attorney for Manhattan, Jay Clayton, said in an April 23 letter to a Manhattan federal court that he was sharing “more than 200 victim impact statements” collected by his office.

The statements span 418 pages of Celsius users, some named and some only using their initials, detailing the impact that the collapse of the firm had on their lives and how much money they had lost as a result.

Some of the statements detailed victims who said they entrusted their life savings to Celsius, believing Mashinsky’s assurances that the platform was safe.

Others wrote they were dismayed at the amount returned to them as a result of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings, which many said was less than the amount they put into the platform.

An excerpt of a statement by Jesse Gaarenstroom detailing their losses and dissatisfaction with the repayments made to Celsius creditors. Source: CourtListener

Before it collapsed, Celsius Network allowed users to deposit crypto to earn yield and offered loans with crypto posted as collateral. It blocked withdrawals in mid-2022 amid a massive crypto market crash and filed for bankruptcy in July that year.

The Justice Department hit Mashinsky with seven charges a year later in July 2023, but he took a plea deal and copped to a count each of commodities and securities fraud in December, which carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if served consecutively.

Some seek leniency for Mashinsky

A large number of the statements reviewed by Cointelegraph called for Mashinsky to be imprisoned under the maximum allowable sentence, but at least two called for the court to go easy on the admitted fraudster.

Related: US prosecutors to pursue ex-SafeMoon CEO case despite DOJ memo

One statement, written by a person identifying themselves as “Mike,” said further punishing Mashinsky would be “unreasonably excessive” as he claimed, without evidence, that the Celsius founder “was the target of a coordinated attack” by Sam Bankman-Fried, a convicted fraudster and former CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX.

Another statement written by Artur Abreu said that Mashinsky should be given leniency as he’s shown remorse, and macroeconomic factors at the time majorly contributed to Celsius’ collapse.

Mashinsky, whose sentencing is set for May 8, argued in an April 17 sentencing brief that he should not be sentenced to more than a year and one day in prison, or 366 days, as he had “genuinely good intentions, and a previously spotless track record.”

The government’s sentencing brief is due on April 24.

Magazine: Inner City Press says ‘less flashy’ Mashinsky set for less jail time than SBF: X Hall of Flame 

US federal prosecutors have asked a district judge to sentence Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg, the crypto user convicted of the $110 million exploit of the decentralized exchange Mango Markets in 2022, to at least six and a half years behind bars.

Ahead of Eisenberg’s May 1 sentencing hearing, US prosecutors are petitioning US District Judge Arun Subramanian for Eisenberg to face between 78 and 97 months in prison, according to an April 22 filing in a New York district court.

Prosecutors argue it’s an appropriate sentence for Eisenberg’s April 2024 conviction for committing wire fraud, commodities fraud and commodities manipulation in connection with the Mango Markets exploit and separate charges that he possessed child pornography.

“This sentence is necessary to, among other things, appropriately reflect the gravity of the defendant’s crimes, promote respect for the law, deter the defendant from future criminal activity, and protect the public,” the prosecutors said.

“Fraud that takes over $100 million from investors and effectively shuts down a business is a shocking violation of criminal law, and it necessitates a sentence commensurate with the crime.”

Mango Markets announced on Jan. 11 that it was winding down operations. It first launched in August 2021. A subsequent Jan. 18 post to X gave a date of Feb. 3 for the shutdown.

Source: Mango Markets

During his April 2024 trial, Eisenberg’s legal team claimed he orchestrated a legal trading strategy that saw him profit $110 million from Mango Markets.

He has returned roughly $67 million of the funds after the exploit, but retained more than $40 million following a community governance vote.

Mango Markets hopes for restitution

In an April 22 impact statement filed by lawyers acting for Mango Markets, the exchange asks that, in light of Eisenberg’s conviction, the court grant $47 million restitution to make everyone, “including Mango DAO, whole.”

“Although Eisenberg’s attack cannot be undone, return of the funds he misappropriated is critical to righting his wrong,” Mango Markets said.

Related: Mango Markets heist like a fake diamond ring scam: Prosecutor

“No amount of money will fix the damage that Eisenberg has caused to Mango Markets’ reputation and the suffering his avarice caused, but returning the money, Eisenberg made off with will at least help.”

Authorities arrested Eisenberg in December 2022. After his conviction, his sentencing has been postponed multiple times.

Initially, it was scheduled for Dec. 12, 2024, but it was later delayed to Feb. 11, 2025, and April 10, 2025. Eisenberg’s legal team said the complexity of the sentencing issues caused the delays. 

Magazine: Ethereum maxis should become ‘assholes’ to win TradFi tokenization race

BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund has been named the best new ETF product by etf.com, as it recorded its highest inflows since Jan. 21. 

On April 23, BlackRock’s iShare Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) was awarded the “Best New ETF” at the annual etf.com ETF awards. In an X post shortly after, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said it “feels right to me.”

IBIT clocks highest inflows in three months

“I’m pretty sure this is how I voted. Both of them did things no one has seen [before],” Balchunas said, also referencing the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) winning the “ETF of the Year” award. Over the past 5 years, VOO is up 89%, according to Google Finance data.

IBIT was also the recipient of the Crypto ETP of the year.

IBIT’s two awards came on the same day IBIT recorded $643.2 million in inflows, according to Farside data. It was the highest inflow day since Jan. 21, when it saw $661.9 million, just a day after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, when Bitcoin’s spot price hit an all-time high of $109,000.

Bitcoin is trading at $93,290 at the time of publication. Source: CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin commentator Vivek said this “is massive,” while Apollo Sats co-founder Thomas Fahrer said, “Huge inflow.”

The IBIT fund, which launched in January 2024 alongside 10 other US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs, has net assets of approximately $53.77 billion, according to BlackRock data. Over the past 30 days, it has traded, on average, 45.02 million shares per day. 

At the time of publication, a single IBIT share is trading at $53.20, as per Google Finance data.

The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF is up 6.02% over the past month. Source: Google Finance

Meanwhile, VanEck Bitcoin ETF (HODL) received the award for “Best new ETF ticker.”

Related: Bitcoiners should be cautious over rally as stablecoin indicator lags: Analyst

IBIT’s large inflow on April 23 made up most of the $917 million seen across all 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs that day. It was the second day in a row with over $900 million in inflows amid most of the month posting outflow days due to macro uncertainty.

On April 23, Glassnode pointed out that the $912 million ETF inflows the day prior equaled more than 500 times the 2025 daily average.

Magazine: Former Love Island star’s tips on how to go viral in crypto: Van00sa, X Hall of Flame

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.