OUTWADE THE REWARD. HERE'S ABC'S REBECCA JARVIS. >> Reporter: 2022 WAS QUITE THE YEAR FOR CRYPTO. >> CRYPTOCURRENCIES WENT ON A WILD RIDE TODAY -- >> PROMISING HUGE RETURNS FAST IF YOU INVEST IN CRYPTOCURRENCY -- >> Reporter: IT STARTED WITH SUPER BOWL ADS. >> A TRADE, ARE YOU SURE? >> NOT A TRADE, TRADE. A TRADE IN CRYPTO. >> Reporter: CRYPTO LOGOS PLASTERED ON MULTIPLE ARENAS. THE RICH AND FAMOUS ENTERING THE CONVERSATION. >> FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE. >> Reporter: IT'S SEEMED LIKE EVERYWHERE YOU TURNED, SOMEONE OR SOMETHING WAS TRYING TO GET YOU TO BUY CRYPTOCURRENCY. >> THE SAFE AND EASY WAY TO GET INTO CRYPTO. >> YEAH, I DON'T THINK SO. AND I'M NEVER WRONG ABOUT THIS STUFF, NEVER. >> Reporter: IT TURNS OUT HE WASN'T. >> BITCOIN AND OTHER CRYPTOCURRENCIES HAVE TAKEN A NOSEDIVE. >> ABOUT $8 BILLION VANISHED. >> NOW THEY'RE CRASHING. >> Reporter: YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT FTX, BUT IT ISN'T THE ONLY CRYPTO COMPANY THAT'S IN HOT WATER FOR LEAVING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, MAYBE EVEN MILLIONS OF CUSTOMERS, IN A REALLY BAD FINANCIAL SPOT. >> I HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT $107,552 IS A LOT OF MONEY TO LOSE. >> IT'S EMBARRASSING, TO ADMIT IN FRONT OF OTHER PEOPLE THAT YOU LOST MONEY IN A PLACE YOU THOUGHT WAS A CREDIBLE PLACE. >> THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO GET OFF THEIR [ BLEEP ] AND PROTECT CONSUMERS. >> HOW WAS YOUR DAY AT SCHOOL, BABE? >> GOOD. >> THREE KIDS? >> THREE. >> ALL UNDER THE AGE OF 6? >> YES. >> YOU HAVE YOUR HANDS FULL. >> TOTALLY. >> BUT YOU'RE TRYING TO GIVE THEM A BETTER FUTURE. >> ABSOLUTELY. >> Reporter: CURT DELL HAS LIVED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HIS WHOLE LIFE. HE WORKS IN ALCOHOL SALES. HIS WIFE, VICTORIA, IS A NURSE PRACTITIONER. >> THAT'S ALL I THINK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT IT, SUCH -- IT ROBBED THEM OF SO MUCH POTENTIAL. SO IT'S -- IT'S JUST -- IT'S SUCH A BAD SITUATION. >> THIS IS WHERE YOU'RE TRADING BITCOIN? >> IT'S WHERE I USED TO. >> Reporter: THE BAD SITUATION HE'S TALKING ABOUT, MORE THAN $200,000 WORTH OF BITCOIN HE CAN'T ACCESS IN A CRYPTO APP CALLED CELSIUS. THINK OF CELSIUS LIKE A BANK, BUT FOR CRYPTOCURRENCY. IT ALL BEGAN IN 2017 WHEN CURT BOUGHT ABOUT $30,000 WORTH OF BITCOIN. AT THE TIME HE INVESTED, ONE BITCOIN WAS WORTH BETWEEN $3,000 AND $4,000. OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, HE GRADUALLY BOUGHT MORE, RIDING THE CRYPTO FRENZY AS THE VALUE OF ONE BITCOIN SOARED TO NEARLY $70,000 IN LATE 2021. >> WHEN IT WENT TO ALMOST $70,000, SHE WAS KIND OF SAYING, HEY, MAYBE WE SHOULD SELL IT. AND I WAS ADAMANTLY AGAINST IT. >> Reporter: HIS ACCOUNT BALANCE AT ITS HEIGHT WAS ALMOST $1 MILLION. BUT OF COURSE, BIG REWARDS CAME WITH BIG RISKS. IN THE SPRING OF 2022, A MAJOR CRASH. THE TOTAL VALUE OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES, EVERYTHING FROM BITCOIN TO ETHEREUM TO DOGECOIN AND LUNIS TEARRA, COLLAPSED FROM ALMOST $3 TRILLION IN 2021 TO LESS THAN $1 TRILLION IN 2022. OVER $2 TRILLION IN VALUE WIPED OUT IN A YEAR. >> I'VE BEEN CALLING 2022 THE YEAR OF CRYPTO CARNAGE. >> IT STARTED WITH A HUGE AMOUNT OF INTENSE OPTIMISM THAT WAS QUICKLY PUNCTURED AND REPLACED BY JUST TOTAL CATASTROPHE. >> Reporter: THE COLLAPSE SHOOK THE INDUSTRY AND BROUGHT A NUMBER OF CRYPTO COMPANIES DOWN WITH IT. CELSIUS WAS ONE OF THE THEM. >> WHAT THE CRASH DID WAS PROMPT A KIND OF RUN ON THE BANK. PEOPLE PANICKED. THEY THOUGHT THAT THEIR CRYPTOCURRENCIES WERE IN DANGER, AND THEY MOVED TO WITHDRAW EVERYTHING THAT THEY DEPOSITED IN CELSIUS. AND THAT'S WHAT KIND OF EXPOSED THE KIND OF SHAKY FOUNDATIONS OF THE WHOLE COMPANY. >> Reporter: ON JUNE 12th OF 2022, CELSIUS FROZE CUSTOMER WITHDRAWALS. ONE MONTH LATER, THE COMPANY FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY, SAYING IT OWED CUSTOMERS $4.7 BILLION. SO HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOU THINK YOU HAD WHEN THOSE WITHDRAWALS WERE SUSPENDED? >> IT WAS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF $350,000. >> WHAT WOULD THAT MONEY HAVE MEANT TO YOUR LIFE? >> EVERYTHING. MY KIDS' EDUCATION. MY MORTGAGE. MY STUDENT LOANS. MY WIFE'S STUDENT LOANS. I'D EVEN GOT HER INVOLVED IN IT, WHICH WAS ANOTHER PART THAT MADE THE SITUATION SO TERRIBLE. SHE INVESTED SOME OF HER MONEY INTO IT TOO. >> IT'S SAD THAT, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE WE WERE VIOLATED AND MADE VICTIMS. I WAS RAISED TO BE A HARD WORKER, AND SO TO HAVE A COMPANY POTENTIALLY TAKE AWAY OUR LIFE'S -- NOT LIFE'S SAVINGS BUT A VERY BIG PORTION OF IT. >> CRYPTO KIND OF ROSE OUT OF THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS. THAT WHOLE CATASTROPHE WAS AN EXAMPLE OF THE FAILURES OF THE CENTRALIZED FINANCIAL SYSTEM. AND IT HELPED INSPIRE THIS MOVEMENT TO CREATE A PARALLEL FINANCIAL SYSTEM THAT DIDN'T RELY ON THE TYPES OF INSTITUTIONS WHOSE BAD BEHAVIOR HAD CAUSED A LOT OF PEOPLE TO SUFFER. >> Reporter: BUT IN RECENT YEARS, A NUMBER OF COMPANIES HAVE POPPED UP THAT ACT KIND OF LIKE CRYPTO BANKS. THEY'RE PLACES LIKE CELSIUS THAT PROMISE BIG RETURNS FOR STORING YOUR CRYPTOCURRENCY IN A KIND OF HIGH-YIELD SAVINGS ACCOUNT. AND A NUMBER OF THOSE COMPANIES HAVE MOVED OR TEASED MOVES TO MIAMI. IT'S A CITY THAT'S COMPLETELY EMBRACED CRYPTO. >> THESE KINDS OF TECHNOLOGIES CAN REVOLUTIONIZE THE WAY WE EXPERIENCE THE WORLD. THEY REVOLUTIONIZE THE WAY WE DO FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS. >> Reporter: HERE, YOU CAN FIND BITCOIN ATMs ON MULTIPLE BLOCKS. THERE'S A CRYPTO SCHOOL IN WINWOOD. ENTHUSIASTS GATHER FOR CRYPTO HAPPY HOURS. YOU CAN PAY WITH BITCOIN IN NIGHTCLUBS. >> DO YOU OWN ANY CRYPTO? >> I DO. I GET MY SALARY IN BITCOIN. >> ARE YOU LIVING OFF OF YOUR BITCOIN? >> NO, NO, NO. >> OKAY, SO YOUR SALARY IS JUST SUPPLEMENTAL? >> CORRECT. >> WHY WOULD ANYBODY PUT MONEY INTO A CRYPTOCURRENCY, GIVEN WHAT WE'VE SEEN? >> YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE TWO DIFFERENT QUESTIONS. I THINK THE FIRST QUESTION IS, IT'S EXCITING TO A LOT OF DEVELOPERS AND LOT OF ENGINEERS, WHICH ARE THE ONES THAT PROPEL INNOVATION. THE SECOND QUESTION IS, WHY SHOULD ANYBODY INVEST IN IT? I DON'T LIKE TO GIVE INVESTMENT ADVICE. >> WHAT ARE THE CHANCES YOU'LL GET THIS MONEY BACK? >> I'D LIKE TO STAY OPTIMISTIC AND THINK THAT I'LL GET A -- AT LEAST A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF IT BACK. WHEN I WATCH THE COURT CASE AND I'M HIGHLY INVOLVED IT IN, I COULDN'T TELL YOU THAT WITH CERTAINLY. I DON'T THINK ANYBODY REALLY KNOWS. >> THE CELSIUS BANKRUPTCY CASE IS PROMISING TO BE LONG AND DRAWN OUT, AS BANKRUPTCY CASES OFTEN ARE. >> Reporter: THERE WAS INITIALLY HOPE. CURT AND OTHERS THOUGHT THEY COULD GET SOME RELIEF. BUT THE GUY WHO WAS POTENTIALLY GOING TO BAIL OUT CELSIUS AND ITS CUSTOMERS BY BIDDING ON ITS ASSETS, WELL -- HE'S A BIT TIED UP AT THE MOMENT. >> PEOPLE WERE CALLING HIM THE WHITE KNIGHT OF CRYPTO BECAUSE HE WAS OFFERING TO BUY THESE THE ASSETS OF A NUMBER OF THESE DISTRESSED LENDERS TO, AS HE PUT IT, MAKE SURE THAT RETAIL INVESTORS DON'T GET HURT. >> HE WENT FROM THIS KIND OF SUPER-RICH CRYPTO WUNDERKIND TO THIS CRYPTO KING WHO WAS GOING TO SAVE THE WHOLE ECONOMY. >> OUR THANKS TO REBECCA. CELSIUS NETWORK IS STILL GOING THROUGH THE BANKRUPTCY PROCESS AND FOR NOW IT'S TOO EARLY TO KNOW WHETHER CUSTOMERS LIKE CURT WILL GET ANY OF THEIR CRYPTOCURRENCY BACK. FOR MORE ON THIS CRYPTO CRAZE CHECK OUT