Crypto Wants Its Cash Back: Inside the Small but Mighty Legal Crusade to Win Back Lost Savings

Before it collapsed on June 12, crypto lender Celsius Network made irresistible promises: Forget storing your money in a boring old bank—join the “unbanked” by holding cryptocurrencies while earning up to 18.6% in interest. Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky bolstered these assurances with populist rallying cries: “Banks have become such monopolistic institutions that they stopped caring for their depositors,” he once proclaimed. But what really attracted investors to pump $11.8 billion in assets into Celsius was the promise of never-ending crypto yields.

Jake, a Celsius customer who daylights as a venture capitalist and prefers to remain anonymous, has long known that even the mightiest crypto empire might have rotten foundations. He was careful about Celsius, putting less than $10,000 into the service. When the lender announced it was pausing withdrawals to “stabilize liquidity,” prompting its cel token to plummet 70% in June, Jake faced a familiar awakening. “It was kind of like, ah, got rugged again,” he said, meaning he fell for yet another crypto scam.

But unlike past rugging experiences, this time he had the “Robin Hood of the internet” on his side. After Celsius announced its withdrawal pause, Jake noticed a Twitter thread from Joshua Browder, founder and CEO of DoNotPay, a controversial robo lawyer that helps customers do everything from annul their marriages to get out of parking tickets. Browder had identified a condition in Celsius’s terms of service that made it possible to sue the company in small claims court. “You can FORCE every bank that holds their money to send you what you’re owed,” Browder declared.