Alex Mashinsky, the CEO of centralized crypto money market Celsius, has revealed that a share of profits from the company's recent $200 million investment into Bitcoin mining infrastructure will be redistributed back to depositors.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Mashinsky stated the firm's mining expansion has added a fifth stream of yield generation for its crypto depositors — alongside lending funds to institutional investors, leveraging DeFi protocols, retail lending, and market making on centralized exchanges.
In early June, Celsius announced it had invested more than $200 million into North American Bitcoin mining infrastructure and positions in Core Scientific, Rhodium Enterprises and Luxor Technologies.
“A big chunk of our community owns Bitcoin and they want to be paid in Bitcoin,” he said, adding: “So, there's nothing better than building a factory that makes Bitcoin.”
“By creating a mining business we are guaranteeing that we can pay our community what we owe them, which is interest in Bitcoin.”
Celsius was founded by the serial entrepreneur in 2017, with the platform offering yield on deposits for more than 40 digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins.
Celsius’ mining expansion comes as Mashinsky notes Bitcoin yields are shrinking amid the growth of DeFi, with numerous protocols offering interest in the form of BTC on Bitcoin deposits. Celsius doesn’t charge any management fees from users, but instead takes 20% or more of the profits generated.
The company is not alone looking to invest in North America’s mining sector, with analysts expecting the continent will see an influx of miners who have been dislocated by China’s recent crackdown on the sector.
Mashinsky is unsurprised by China’s regulatory moves, characterizing the clampdown as a move to eliminate competition and protect its emerging central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Ultimately, Celsius’ CEO argues the Chinese miner exodus will prove to be beneficial for the decentralization of the Bitcoin network, stating:
“Moving a lot of the miners out of China is definitely helping Bitcoin get decentralized even more. So it's a good thing for Bitcoin, just not necessarily a good thing for the citizens of China.”
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The CEO has bullish expectations of Bitcoin’s price for the rest of the year, asserting that the price will tag heights of “anywhere between $140,000 and $160,000.”
However, he believes the markets will peak before 2022, asserting Bitcoin will “close the year below $100,000” after sellers step in to take profits in the six-figure price range.