Youtuber Bitboy Crypto, aka Ben Armstrong, alleged the FTX exchange and Canadian entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary were pivotal figures in taking down Celsius.
The crypto lending and borrowing platform halted withdrawals on June 13 to stabilize operations amid “extreme market conditions.”
Weeks before that, rumors were circulating all was not well at Celsius, including reports of unfair liquidations and hurdles to withdrawing funds. At the time, former CEO Alex Mashinsky labeled such reports as FUD, denying there were problems at the company.
Mike do you know even one person who has a problem withdrawing from Celsius?,
why spread FUD and misinformation.
If you are paid for this then let everyone know you are picking sides otherwise our job is to fight Tradfi together…
— Alex Mashinsky (@Mashinsky) June 11, 2022
Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, with Mashinsky saying it was “the right decision for our community and company.”
Since then, the contagion has spread further into the industry, with several other crypto platforms filing for bankruptcy post-Terra implosion.
In the aftermath, particularly in the case of FTX, parts of the crypto industry have been exposed as an over-leveraged, risk-intolerant Ponzi.
Bitboy spills the beans
Throughout the FTX collapse, Bitboy has thrust himself front and center as a central person in exposing the lies and corruption.
Speaking recently on the Altcoin Daily YouTube channel, Bitboy called Kevin O’Leary “a snake,” saying “there’s been some bad stuff in his past,” but did not elaborate further on what it was.
Bitboy switched the conversation to O’Leary’s alleged ties with FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), adding the latter was “behind every crash this entire year.”
“Kevin O’Leary was 100% complicit in helping FTX crash Celsius. We know now, Sam’s behind every crash this entire year. Sam was behind Terra Luna, Sam was behind Celsius, Sam was behind Voyager, Sam was behind Three Arrows Capital… they’re a big game hunter.”
Explaining the motive as he sees it, Bitboy said FTX profiting from each crash was a play to stave off its own liquidity woes.
However, Bitboy did not entirely let Mashinsky off the hook, saying the former CEO had his part to play in Celsius’s downfall and will be held accountable. He added that:
“The true scam of what FTX was doing by counterfeiting coins and inflating them on their markets, and you understand Sam has a gigantic short in on the CEL token.”
Celsius to zero, said O’Leary
Referring to the infamous interview in which O’Leary called SBF “one of the most brilliant traders” and still worthy of backing, Bitboy pointed out the peculiarity of continuing to support the disgraced former FTX CEO.
Questioner: Would you back SBF [of FTX] again?
Kevin O’Leary: “He was one of the most brilliant traders in the crypto Universe… the answer would be, yes.” pic.twitter.com/WYCDNRK74c
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) November 16, 2022
He continued by saying that O’Leary-backed investment firm WonderFi was one of the last firms to send funds to FTX to keep the company afloat while also mentioning a CoinDesk interview with O’Leary calling for Celsius to “go to zero.”
“Nobody else think it’s weird in June, right before everything started happening with Celsius, Kevin O’Leary is on CoinDesk saying, “I think right before we have a change in the market, we’re going to have to see Celsius go to zero”?”
Bitboy said competing exchange platforms, such as Celsius, and projects vying against Solana were targeted by FTX.
Commenting on the potential legal action coming from these allegations, Bitboy said he is not worried as he has “hard proof” of his claims.
