The Mashinskys used Celsius to promote Strong blockchain — and it still failed

Krissy Meehan (formerly Krissy Mashinsky) and Alex Mashinsky are well-known for their connections to the failed and allegedly fraudulent crypto lender Celsius Network. Less thoroughly investigated, however, has been their role with Strong Blockchain, a brand name used for several different products led by the pair and related to e-commerce marketplace USA Strong.

Strong Blockchain is described as a “decentralized, community-driven platform that allows users to verify the authenticity of products made in the USA.” Meehan confidently stated on X (formerly Twitter) that “The verification of Americas [sic] Supply Chain = more jobs & a stronger local economy.”

Mashinsky listed himself as chairman of USA Strong on his LinkedIn, with Strong Blockchain at one point tweeting that it was “so great full [sic]” for his leadership (it later corrected the spelling and made sure to tag him). USA Strong told Protos that “Mashinsky is not Chairman.” Meehan was the firm’s chief exec.

Mashinsky took advantage of his role as the then-CEO of Celsius to promote the Strong Blockchain product, mentioning it in Celsius videos. He has since been charged with a variety of felony financial crimes related to his conduct while at the firm.

Screenshot from Strong Blockchain application.

Read more: Blockfolio and Celsius PPP loans forgiven before bankruptcy

On the Strong Blockchain app, you can see a post that was apparently posted on March 30, 2022, that brags that “Strong Blockchain is live” and encourages firms to verify products. Previous tweets from the since rebranded ‘strongblkchain’ X accounts also noted the official launch of the product in early 2022.

However, there currently appear to be zero verified manufacturers. The ‘Recently verified products’ section of the application has most recently been used for ‘latest test producut [sic]’ and ‘Test Product,’ both from the ‘Latest Test Company.’

A trip to the OpenSea profile linked on the USAMADE website shows a ‘USAMADE’ collection that doesn’t include any of the NFTs that are supposed to be issued to verified businesses. It does, however, include pieces clearly inspired or nearly wholesale copied from copyrighted works. The USAMADE spinner NFT is currently owned by ‘WEB3STRONG,’ also associated with USA Strong.

Some firms have previously been verified, like Humid Outside, but its verification expired on December 15, 2022. The website for Humid Outside also seems to indicate that it hasn’t yet launched. Humid Outside, LLC, which is based in the same Florida town as the Strong Blockchain-verified entity, appears to have been dissolved in 2022.

USA Strong provided Protos with an additional profile when we requested information, for luxury candle company Thompson Ferrier. However, on closer inspection, that verification expired in August. Protos pointed out this was expired and requested a current profile from USA Strong, to which it replied, “The important point for us is the data was valid at that time.” Protos has been unable to identify a single firm that is currently verified by this product.

Reviewing the Humid Outside profile in more detail, it appears that it wasn’t verified using the NFT method currently described on the website but instead relied on a separate type of transaction on Ethereum. The address, which is verified for Humid Outside, is the same address that was ‘verified’ in this manner for Thompson Ferrier.

The USA Strong address, which was performing these verifications was also interacting with the CEL token.

It’s important to highlight that despite these various connections to Celsius, a currently bankrupt firm accused of fraud, USA Strong, wasn’t included in that bankruptcy.

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