The global bitcoin exchange will dig into its own coffers to reconcile users who lost their money as a result of the collapse of Celsius.
Global peer-to-peer Bitcoin platform Paxful announced it will provide almost nine bitcoin worth ~$250,000.00 to its Paxful Earn users who were affected by the Celsius collapse.
The funds will be transferred to Paxful wallets this week. Paxful Earn was launched in partnership with Celsius to offer Paxful users a chance to earn yield on their Bitcoin. However, users were unable to withdraw their funds from Celsius when the latter collapsed, leaving Paxful paralyzed and unable to retrieve the funds. Around 600,000 interest-bearing accounts, including Paxful Earn users, were affected when U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn ruled that assets in Celsius Earn accounts belonged to Celsius’ bankruptcy estate, not to the users.
Ray Youssef, founder and CEO of Paxful, said, “The courts failed these Celsius users. The U.S. government is more than willing to bailout traditional banks, but Bitcoin users do not seem to be their priority. That does not sit right with me, and I have taken action to make sure Paxful Earn users receive their full Celsius funds.”
Since the Celsius collapse, Paxful has been encouraging Bitcoin self-custody and advocating for users to hold their own Bitcoin. Paxful also supports financial literacy and transparency, having recently donated funds to build the Bitcoin Technology Center in Ghana to spread financial education.
Youssef stated that customer trust is hard to earn and even harder to keep, and he would always put Paxful’s users first. According to him, the company’s primary focus is the customer and has launched various initiatives to support its customers. He cites the company’s involvement in charity and social impact work, such as providing funds to build a school in Rwanda and donating money to assist with pandemic relief efforts in India.