Celsius reports it doubled its crypto holdings to $2.2B in six months

Centralized crypto lending platform Celsius claims to have doubled its crypto holdings in just six months, now boasting $2.2 billion in assets under management.

Crypto lending and borrowing platform Celsius has announced that it now holds more than $2.2 billion in digital assets under management.

According to a Nov. 9 release, Celsius has more than doubled its net crypto holdings six months after first surpassing $1 billion in June.

Excluding its AUM, Celsius' balance sheet now includes cash and its native CEL tokens, worth more than $680 million.

Celsius offers a centralized alternative to decentralized finance, dubbed "CeFi" by much of the crypto community.

Crypto assets deposited on the platform are lent to exchanges and market markers, with 80% of the interest generated being distributed to depositors.

Since launching in July 2018, Celsius claims to have paid more than $80 million in rewards to depositors.

In the announcement, Celsius' CEO and founder, Alex Mashkinsky, describes his company's success as proving that "Interest income is the new killer app for crypto."

In August, Celsius raised $20 million from roughly 1,000 investors in an equity raise hosted by crypto platform BnkToTheFuture, drawing speculation regarding the company's solvency.

This past weekend, rival crypto lending service Cred filed for bankruptcy, listing liabilities of up to ten times its assets, leaving users uncertain as to whether they will be able to recover their funds from the platform.