Celsius has announced that non-accredited U.S. users will no longer be able to use Celsius Earn, and starting Apr. 15, only accredited investors will be able to earn yield on their crypto assets.
Celsius, a prominent crypto lending site, is limiting customers’ ability to earn interest on their crypto holdings. Only authorized investors will be able to use the Earn platform to earn yield in the future. Users in the United States are the only ones who will be affected by the changes.
Non-accredited investors in the United States will be unable to earn rewards on their bitcoin starting April 15. Any funds added to the platform will instead be placed in the new Custody account, which was also revealed in a blog post, and will not accrue rewards. Users in some jurisdictions within the United States will be unable to use the Custody service owing to “licensing requirements.”
It is possible to become an accredited investor in a number of ways. Having a sufficiently high income or net worth is one method to qualify (or asset levels if a business entity is trying to qualify).
However, there are alternative options for meeting the requirements, such as demonstrating a specific level of understanding of unregistered securities through education or work experience. Users who deposit monies into the Earn platform before April 15 will continue to earn interest on their digital assets.
The blog article came to this conclusion:
“We will continue to provide updates as we engage with regulators and ensure the delivery of our services to our users globally.”
While this is undoubtedly a setback for Celsius, it appeared to diversify its business last November when it spent an extra $300 million in Bitcoin mining, following a $200 million investment the year before.