Alex Mashinsky

Alex Mashinsky is a businessman, co-founder and former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network.

Personal Stats

Alex Mashinsky Biography

Alex Mashinsky was born on October 5, 1965, in the Soviet Union, to a Jewish family. In 1970, he moved to Israel with his family. Since his early years, he was interested in electrical engineering and business. As a teenager, he resold goods confiscated at Ben-Gurion Airport.

Between 1984 and 1987, Mashinsky served in the Israeli army, where he trained as a pilot. A year later, he left Israel and moved to New York with a few dollars in his pocket.

Alex Mashinsky Education

He studied at Tel Aviv University and majored in economics. He later enrolled at the Open University of Israel to major in electrical engineering, but never completed his studies, moving to the United States.

Alex Mashinsky Career

Once Mashinsky moved to the United States, he started a business selling contracts for chemicals such as gold and sodium cyanide. Mashinsky then worked for A+ Systems, a company that developed computer software for telephone operators' voice mail.

The ambition and skills acquired at Tel Aviv University led Mashinsky to establish a successful exchange in the telecommunications industry in 1995. Arbinet handled more than 20 billion transactions a year and operated successfully until 2012. Arbinet eventually sold its assets, paying out more than $800 million dollars to shareholders.

In 1997, Mashinsky founded Comgates, which became the leading switch vendor at the time. Comgates eventually merged with Telco Systems.

In 2001, Alex founded Elematics, which develops software for optical telecommunications infrastructure control panels. And in 2004, he founded Governing Dynamics, a venture capital fund that invested in growing companies in sectors such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, energy, and cybersecurity. A year later, Mashinsky founded GroundLink, which focused on providing car rental services through its app. The project also became successful: its services were implemented in 5,000 cities around the world.

Mashinsky served as CEO of Novatel from 2014 to 2015. Explaining his reason for stepping down, he stated that he was fired from his position because he refused to move from New York City to Novatel's San Diego headquarters. He was also the founder of Q-Wireless, which later became part of Transit Wireless.

In 2017, Mashinsky became co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network. And remained in that position until 2022. In early 2022, he took control of the company's trading strategy and eventually became responsible for a series of failed trades that led to the company's bankruptcy and a $1.2 billion financial hole.

In early 2023, court-appointed expert and former federal prosecutor Shobha Pillai presented documents to the court about Celsius' operations, emphasizing the fraud committed by Mashinsky. On January 5, 2023, he was charged with securities law violations and ordered to pay a fine.

On July 13, 2023, when Celsius agreed to settle, Mashinsky was arrested and charged with fraud. He faces decades in prison.

Alex Mashinsky Personal Life

Alex is married to Krissy Meehan, who is also passionate about blockchain technology. She is an entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of NYC STRONG. She is also the co-founder and CEO of usastrong.io.

Alex and Krissy have been married for 12 years. They have six children: 3 daughters, Natalie and Mackenzie Moen, and 3 sons, David and youngest Ethan. The names of the other two children are unknown.

What is Alex Mashinsky Net Worth?

Alex's fortune is estimated at $50 million dollars. Mashinsky has worked in a variety of industries throughout his life. In 2022, The Wall Street Journal described him as "a brash, confident serial entrepreneur with a constant stream of big ideas."

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