Bitcoin will ‘finish the year above $30k’ – Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky

With recent developments in the crypto space and the upcoming Bitcoin halving, there’s fresh optimism in the air.

As well as announcing a new partnership with Korean cryptocurrency exchange Korbit, Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky sees BTC ending 2020 at more than $30,000.

Who is Alex Mashinsky?

You may have heard of Alex Mashinsky before. If not his name, then certainly his achievements. Mashinsky is one of the inventors of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). That means any time you make a call online through WhatsApp or Skype, you have him to thank for it.

As a serial entrepreneur, he’s turned his hand to many successful endeavours and is now focused on bringing MoIP (Money over Internet Protocol) to the masses through his crypto lending platform Celsius Network.

Having already issued more than $4.25bn crypto loans in 2019, you could forgive him for feeling bullish. His company is going from strength to strength.

Celsius now boasts more than 65,000 retail customers and over 200 institutional clients. And it’s expanding its global reach through a series of strategic partnerships.

The latest collaboration with Korean exchange Korbit

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Korbit will become Celsuis Network’s latest business client. Founded in 2013, Korbit was the nation’s first cryptocurrency exchange and is one of the most trusted thanks to its ISMS certification and compliance with regulatory guidelines.

Korbit will entrust Celsius (whose custodian BitGO is covered by $100m Lloyd’s Insurance) to manage a portion of its treasury.

When asked how much “a portion” is, Mashinsky told Coin Rivet: “Korbit will decide how much they want to deposit. We aren’t sure what the percentage of their assets will be but Korbit has over $600m in deposits.”

He also said: “We are proud they chose us as a partner to offer interest income to the Korean crypto community. It’s the beginning of a long partnership, opening up a new market for us in Korea, and bringing Celsius closer to its mission of bringing unparalleled economic freedom to the world.”

It will be the first partnership of many more to come throughout the year, the Ukraine-born entrepreneur assures: “We plan to announce one to two partnerships like this one every month for the rest of 2020. We have a lot of momentum and are excited about what’s happening in this space.”

More about Celsius Network

Celsius Network provides a crypto interest income and lending platform accessible via a mobile app. Celsius users can benefit from some of the highest rates on a wide selection of coins with no lock-up periods or penalties.

“2019 was a year of enormous growth for us,” Mashinsky enthused, and its swelling user base and global expansion certainly back this up.

With the belief that more people should benefit from financial services such as high-interest accounts and low-cost loans, Celsius Network commits to sharing 80% of its revenue with its community of users in the form of weekly interest.

“We collect income from the institutions in the form of interest income and pay 80% of that to our retail depositors,” Mashinsky explained.

Now, what was that about Bitcoin price?

When asked for his thoughts on the current crypto price pump and the reasons behind it, Mashinsky responded:

“The price of BTC has gone up and down in the past few weeks. The up movement was fueled by Iran fears and the creation of $500m of additional USDT last week. Expect a lot of volatility in the coming months as the halvening is going to cause a lot of positioning in the spot, OTC, and futures markets.”

So what does he think the price of Bitcoin will be by the end of 2020? “I expect BTC to start moving up aggressively towards the end of July and finish the year above $30k,” he states in no uncertain terms.

With a successful track-record of creating products people never knew they needed, Alex Mashinsky certainly seems to have the Midas touch. His company is onboarding more institutions to the space while helping individual HODLers realise the potential of their funds.

So perhaps a $30,000 BTC by year-end isn’t so unrealistic after all. Of course, that remains to be seen. But whatever the price of BTC, we can expect Celsius Network to keep on growing.