Celestia, which focuses on data availability in blockchain technology, has been on the agenda in recent days with both its price action and insider allegations. The project's native token, TIA, attracted attention by gaining over 10 percent in value despite insider sales allegations, management scandals, and community criticism. However, this rise may not mean that long-term trust has been regained.
Insider sales and controversial unlock schedule
Allegations circulating on social media about Celestia's co-founder Mustafa Al-Bassam have caused a serious erosion of trust in the community. An X (former Twitter) user claimed that Al-Bassam sold $25 million worth of TIA tokens through OTC (over-the-counter) transactions and then settled in Dubai. The same post also claims that some other senior executives in the project similarly unlocked tokens early and sold them. This early unlock, which is claimed to take place in October 2024 in particular, coincides with a period when many investors are experiencing a drop in the TIA price of more than 90 percent.
Not only financial management, but also ethical issues are on the agenda. It has been claimed that the former Developer Relations Manager "Yaz" was dismissed due to sexual harassment allegations. There are also allegations that Celestia marketed the project by paying large amounts to some English-language influencers. This situation was interpreted by the community as a "perception operation."
Al-Bassam: "We are here despite FUD"
Although Mustafa Al-Bassam avoided responding directly to the allegations, he made a statement emphasizing that the project's financial situation is strong. "FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) is becoming more and more absurd every day. However, the founders, engineers and first employees at Celestia are still here and are as hardworking as the first day," he said. Al-Bassam stated that Celestia has a reserve of over $100 million and that this fund can keep the project afloat for at least six years.
In a similar statement made in May, he used the following expressions: “Most of the founders are tweeting less now because the prices have fallen and they are afraid of attacks from angry token holders. But remember, this is a casino and there is no crying.”
What is the latest situation on the price?
Despite all these negativities, the TIA price increased by over 10 percent to $1.58. Although some investors welcomed this rise, analysts interpreted this situation as a “dead cat bounce”, or a short-term recovery. The fact that TIA is still 92 percent below its peak of $20.91 seen in June last year shows that confidence in the project has not fully returned.
Amid all these discussions, the Celestia community is considering a new governance model to be used on the network: Proof-of-Governance (PoG). In this system, validators are selected according to their governance power, not the classical stake rate. The project team presents this model as a more fair and sustainable alternative for liquid staked tokens.
