Celestia faces intense community criticism following allegations of coordinated insider token sales and a steep 95% price drop from its peak. Co-founder Mustafa Al-Bassam has publicly defended the project, asserting its long-term viability despite increasing skepticism from investors.
Multiple accusations suggest insiders engaged in orchestrated selling, significantly damaging the protocol’s credibility. Notably, Al-Bassam allegedly offloaded over 25 million TIA tokens via undisclosed over-the-counter deals. Compounding these concerns, TIA’s extended token unlock schedule is under scrutiny for potentially enabling early stakeholders to liquidate positions during peak valuations.
Despite the controversy, Celestia retains substantial industry influence, commanding roughly 50% of the data availability throughput market. Over 30 rollups currently utilize its modular blockchain infrastructure, demonstrating continued adoption among developers despite recent reputational challenges.
Skeptical investors highlight the absence of applications with proven product-market fit as a fundamental growth obstacle. While TIA recently showed a 14% rebound to $1.61, it remains severely depressed compared to its all-time high of $20.91 in June 2023.