The pseudonymous non-fungible token (NFT) collector known as “0xb1” posted a Twitter thread on July 7, 2022, that details the collector’s real identity and his connection to the cryptocurrency lending company Celsius. Jason Stone, also known as 0xb1, claimed that his team discovered “major issues with the way the company operated,” and that they would be ending their working relationship in March 2021. Stone claims that Celsius suffered temporary loss and was falsely accused of stealing when the team began to unwind its defi positions.
The creator of Keyfi, also known as “0xb1,” files a lawsuit against Celsius.
The creator of Keyfi, a startup decentralized finance (defi) aggregator in which Celsius had a stake, Jason Stone, has accused Celsius of violating several moral principles, including “operating a Ponzi scheme.” Stone used the Twitter account “0xb1,” a well-known NFT whale in the cryptocurrency industry with 121,200 Twitter followers, to communicate with the public. In October 2021, 0xb1 signed a contract with the talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), according to Bitcoin.com News.
Using the official 0xb1 Twitter account, Stone claimed on Thursday that he and a “group of talented individuals” were in charge of running the 0xb1 address from August 2020 to April 2021. He stated in the Twitter thread that he believed “it is only prudent to finally clear the record.” Stone stated that his team was “managing nearly $2 billion of assets” by the time the two businesses parted ways when Celsius partially acquired Keyfi.
The Keyfi founder continued by saying that Celsius had reassured him that “risk management and hedging in place to account for fluctuations in token prices” had been put in place. However, we learned Celsius had lied to us by the end of February 2021, Stone wrote. “Neither our activities nor the changes in the price of cryptoassets had they been hedged. The entire company’s portfolio had unprotected market exposure, he continued.
A lawsuit claims that Celsius was running a Ponzi scheme. Stone wants to “Finally Clear the Record”
Stone also shared a court document from the 0xb1 Twitter account because he is suing Celsius. The lawsuit claims that the recent discovery that Celsius lacked the resources to meet its withdrawal obligations “shows that defendants were, in fact, operating a Ponzi scheme.” The lawsuit does, however, make note of the fact that the parties collaborated “without any formal written agreement” and that they “engaged in an enterprise for’mutual benefit… based on mutual respect and trust.'” The cryptocurrency boutique law firm Roche Freedman LLP is representing Stone.
According to the lawsuit and Stone’s Twitter thread, he repeatedly attempted to resolve conflicts with Celsius in a private setting. According to a document filed in the state of New York, Kyle Roche, who is representing Stone and Keyfi, sent Mr. Hurley an email on September 1st, 2021, demanding that Celsius pay the earnout payment or else agree to pay for an accounting and mediate the dispute. Celsius declined. At the conclusion of the thread on the 0xb1 Twitter account, Stone stated:
Given the widespread rumors regarding the company’s financial stability and my observations of Celsius’ erratic reporting of the facts, I believe it is only prudent to finally clarify the situation. I’ve filed a lawsuit against Celsius to put an end to this matter once and for all.
