Celestia co-founder Mustafa Al-Bassam has defended his team amid accusations of insider dumping and declining token value. Despite claims of misconduct and community outrage, Al-Bassam asserts that all founders and core engineers are committed and active within the project. He emphasized that significant token drawdowns are common in the industry, referencing Celestia's $100M war chest and a runway of over six years as factors ensuring the project's longevity. The backlash arises after critics alleged coordinated profit-taking by insiders, particularly following token unlocks. Al-Bassam's remarks were likely in response to heightened scrutiny on social media, including a viral X thread blaming the team for offloading TIA tokens, resulting in retail investors facing substantial losses. Investors like Larry Sukernik have previously labeled Celestia as a warning against over-reliance on marketing without sufficient user engagement. Currently, TIA trades at $1.61, showing a significant decline from its all-time high of $20.91 last June, raising questions about the project’s economic traction and future in the fragmented blockchain space.

Source 🔗