Celsius, the crypto banking startup, now has $250 million of deposits, with $50 million coming in just the last couple of weeks.
Celsius positions itself as a bank deposit product killer. The New York-based startup pays depositors a 7% yield on the funds it lends at 9%. Deposits, which are not insured, are held in cryptocurrency.
At an event in New York today, Alex Mashinsky, CEO of Celsius, said the volume of deposits lends credence to its business model. The startup is not taking deposits in “North Korea, Iran and New York State,” he joked.
Celsius was founded two years ago and has raised about $50 million of venture funding. Each unit of its cryptocurrency — ticker CEL — currently is valued at around $0.10.