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☆ From $40 billion fraud to $4.5 billion settlement: Inside the latest crypto firm paying big bucks to end legal trouble
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

This week, a judge signed off on Do Kwon and his bankrupt Terraform Labs settling with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for $4.5 billion. This comes after a jury unanimously found Kwon and his company liable for securities fraud following less than two hours of deliberation. But investors piled in anyway, giving luna and UST a combined market value of almost $40 billion at one point. Terraform and Kwon fought our efforts to investigate – taking a fight over investigative subpoenas all the way to the Supreme Court. They are Caroline Ellison, the Alameda Research CEO who at one time dated Bankman-Fried; FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh; and Gary Wang, the co-founder and chief technology officer of FTX.

Persons: Kwon, Woohae Cho, Sam Bankman, Changpeng Zhao, Luna, atoning, Alex Mashinsky, Wall, Stevo Vasiljevic, Reuters Kwon, He's, Satoshi Nakamoto, Elon Musk, Mike Novogratz, Gary Gensler, –, Fried, Fatih Aktas, Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan, Bankman, convicting, Prosecutors, Ryan Salame, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang, FTX, Jason Redmond, Zhao, Richard Jones, …, Binance, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Terraform Labs, Bloomberg, Getty, U.S, Forbes, Arrows Capital, Voyager, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Labs, U.S . Justice Department, Futures Trading Commission, Treasury Department, bitcoin, BlackRock, Fidelity, Reuters, terraUSD, UST, Traders, Twitter, SEC, Supreme, Anadolu Agency, Alameda Research, ., Republicans, Bankman, AFP, of Prisons, District, Bank, DOJ, CFTC, Treasury, Binance, New, Commercial Bank Locations: U.S, Balkans, Podgorica, Montenegro, Singapore, Dubai, Serbia, Balkan, South Korea, United States, lockstep, New York, Manhattan, Seattle, Lompoc , California, Binance

☆ Judge allows Sam Bankman-Fried to keep his new lawyers after prosecutors warn of conflict of interest
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewUS District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that Sam Bankman-Fried could retain his new lawyers despite a noted conflict of interest. Questioned thoroughly by Kaplan, Bankman-Fried affirmed that he wanted to keep his new attorneys, waiving his right to "conflict-free representation," as Kaplan put it. They're expected to help Bankman-Fried with his sentencing hearing, scheduled for late March. In their February letter, prosecutors said Kaplan should hold a Curcio hearing, where the judge could ask Bankman-Fried and his lawyers questions to determine whether a legitimate conflict of interest exists and whether they would waive it for the sentencing hearing. This has the potential to create a conflict in the representation of Bankman-Fried and Mashinsky," prosecutors wrote in the letter.

Persons: —, Lewis Kaplan, Sam Bankman, Fried, Kaplan, Marc Mukasey, Torrey Young, waiving, Mukasey, Young, They're, Alex Mashinsky, Caroline Ellison, Mashinsky, Prosecutors, Michael Mukasey, George W, Bush, Eddie Gallagher, Eric Trump, Matt Gaetz, Alexandra Shapiro, Shapiro, Nicolas Roos Organizations: Service, Bankman, Business, Justice Department Prosecutors, Alameda Research, Prosecutors, Mashinsky, Navy, New, Trump Locations: Manhattan, Alameda, New York

☆ Crypto’s 2023 was marred by fraud and scandal. It was its best year ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-24 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Crypto’s 14th year in existence was one marred by scandal, bankruptcy, fraud and regulatory squabbling. Bitcoin, the crypto’s bellwether asset, is up 160% for the year. “It was the year of crypto’s resiliency,” Kyla Curley, a crypto expert and partner at global advisory StoneTurn, tells CNN. “Fraud is fraud,” Curley says, “Regardless of the technology or the industry … you cannot stop human nature. Adding to that bullish sentiment: the bitcoin halving, or, more menacingly, “the halvening.”While it’s often a buy-the-hype-sell-the-news kind of event, the halving does tend to push bitcoin higher.

Persons: New York CNN —, “, ”, Sam Bankman, Zhao, Alex Mashinsky, Heather “ Razzlekhan ” Morgan, Ilya Lichtenstein, ‘, Bonnie, Clyde ’, Bitcoin, crypto’s, ” Kyla Curley, ” Curley, Changpeng Zhao, Eduardo Munoz, Costas Baltas, Faryar Shirzad, bitcoin, ” Antoni Trenchev, ” Trenchev, Warren Buffett, Anthony Scaramucci, “ Bitcoin Organizations: New, New York CNN, New York CNN — Crypto’s, CNN, Department of Justice, crypto’s, grifters, Bitcoiners, SkyBridge Locations: New York, SBF, Bitcoin

☆ Crypto lender Celsius Network cleared to exit bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Crypto lender Celsius Network received U.S. bankruptcy court approval for a restructuring plan that will return cryptocurrency to customers and create a new company owned by Celsius creditors. Crypto lenders BlockFi and Voyager Digital were wiped out in bankruptcy, and cryptocurrency exchange FTX remains stuck in Chapter 11 proceedings. In addition to their stake in the new company, Celsius customers will receive a partial repayment of the cryptocurrency assets they deposited on the platform. Celsius had 600,000 customers who held about $4.4 billion in interest-bearing Celsius accounts when it filed for bankruptcy, according to court documents. The restructuring plan includes a settlement that values Celsius's proprietary crypto token, CEL, at 25 cents.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Martin Glenn, Michael Arrington, BlockFi, Arrington, Alex Mashinsky, Mashinsky, Dietrich Knauth, Alexia Garamfalvi, Lisa Shumaker, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Bankruptcy, LLC, Arrington Capital, Voyager, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New Jersey, New York

As token prices plummeted last year, the sector saw other stunning meltdowns that put several industry moguls into authorities' crosshairs. Changpeng "CZ" ZhaoThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance and its CEO Zhao in June for allegedly operating "a web of deception." Kwon faces multiple charges of fraud in the U.S. and was arrested in Montenegro earlier this year for allegedly forging documents, authorities said. He has pleaded not guilty to U.S. fraud charges that he misled customers and artificially inflated the value of his company's proprietary crypto token. Barry SilbertSilbert is the boss of crypto group Digital Currency Group whose subsidiary Genesis Global Capital filed for bankruptcy in January.

Persons: Zhao Changpeng, Binance, Costas Baltas, Sam Bankman, Fried, he's, Zhao, Kwon, Luna, Terraform, Alex Mashinsky, Mashinsky, Barry Silbert Silbert, Letitia James, Silbert, Stephen Ehrlich Stephen Ehrlich's, Ehrlich, Justin Sun, Sun, Niket Nishant, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price, Anil D'Silva Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Zhao, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Korean, Terraform Labs, Montenegrin, Mashinsky, CFTC, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Digital Currency Group, Genesis Global Capital, New York, FTC, Tron Foundation, Thomson Locations: Athens, Greece, China, Canada, U.S, Montenegro, New York

☆ Bankman-Fried trial poses biggest test to date for crypto's top cop
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Bankman-Fried's will be the first of Williams' blockbuster white collar cases to go to trial. The cases Williams, 43, has brought so far show he has been a "steward" of the SDNY's longstanding priorities, said Kan Nawaday, who overlapped with Williams at the office. Prosecutors had described the cases as the first insider trading cases brought involving digital assets. Williams' charges against Bankman-Fried came just one month after FTX's collapse, which former prosecutors say is very fast for a complex white collar case. WILLIAMS HAS STRUGGLED WITH SELF-DOUBTBankman-Fried's trial comes after some setbacks and amid ongoing challenges for Williams' office.

Persons: Damian Williams, Mike Segar, Sam Bankman, Williams, Charlie Javice, Bill Hwang, Joe Lewis, Javice, Hwang, Lewis, Kan Nawaday, He's, Venable, Prosecutors, Alex Mashinsky, WILLIAMS, SDNY's, John Paul Stevens, General Merrick Garland, Garland, Joe Biden, Bob Menendez, Menendez, Fried, Joshua Naftalis, Pallas, Brian Benjamin, haters, Luc Cohen, Noeleen Walder, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Attorney, Southern, of, REUTERS, U.S, Yale Law School, Archegos Capital Management, Supreme, Allianz's U.S, Allianz, Bankman, New, Columbia Law School, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, of New York, English, Jersey, Bahamas, Caribbean, New York, Bronx, Georgia

Celsius Network logo and representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration taken, June 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/file photoCompanies Celsius Network Limited FollowNEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Crypto lender Celsius Network on Monday received a U.S. bankruptcy judge's permission to seek creditor approval for its bankruptcy plan, advancing a proposal to exit Chapter 11 as a new entity owned by its creditors. Some creditors oppose the plan, but the official committee appointed to represent junior creditors supports it and will recommend that Celsius customers vote in favor. Celsius had 600,000 customers who held about $4.4 billion in interest-bearing Celsius accounts when it filed for bankruptcy, according to court documents. This will allow Celsius customers to sell equity shares that they will receive as part of their bankruptcy recovery, according to court documents.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Martin Glenn, Alex Mashinsky, Mashinsky, Dietrich Knauth, Alexia Garamfalvi, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Monday, Arrington, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, . New Jersey, New York

Alex Mashinsky, founder and former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, exits the Manhattan federal court in New York City, U.S., July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoNEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former chief of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, must face a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James accusing him of civil fraud, a Manhattan state court judge ruled on Friday. Mashinsky has separately pleaded not guilty to criminal fraud charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice tied to Celsius' demise. Lawyers for Mashinsky in the New York civil case did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The case is New York v. Mashinsky, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No.

Persons: Alex Mashinsky, Brendan McDermid, Letitia James, Margaret Chan, Chan, James, Martin, general's, Mashinsky's, Mashinsky, Jonathan Stempel, Will Dunham, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, New York, U.S . Department of Justice, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, . Federal Trade Commission, Lawyers, Mashinsky, Mashinsky , New York, Court, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, New York, Hoboken , New Jersey, Mashinsky , New, Court , New York County

Second-biggest token Ether had its best session since March and Ripple , which a U.S. judge ruled could be legally sold on public crypto exchanges, soared 73%. "The regulatory environment is changing," said Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at crypto asset manager Astronaut Capital. He said further cases would probably shed more light on how courts will treat private crypto offerings. The world's biggest asset manager, BlackRock (BLK.N), filed to launch a bitcoin exchange traded fund last month and earlier in July exchange operator Cboe (CBOE.Z) refreshed its filing for a similar fund to be run by asset manager Fidelity. "For the first time in a while, it's been consistently positive news coming though and that means you've got momentum."

Persons: Bitcoin, Matthew Dibb, Justin d'Anethan, Greg Moritz, FTX, Sam Bankman, Alex Mashinsky, We'd, Chris Weston, it's, Vidya Ranganathan, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Capital, BlackRock, Fidelity, Investors, Solana, Commodity Futures, Commission, Tab, Traders, U.S, SEC, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, U.S, Asia, Keyrock, Hong Kong, reining, China, noncomplicance, Melbourne, Singapore

A U.S. judge said on Thursday that Ripple Labs Inc did not violate securities law by selling its XRP token on public exchanges. Although the decision was specific to the individual case, it unleashed a wave of optimism among crypto investors that more cryptocurrencies may also not be deemed securities. Still, the enthusiasm for some was tempered by a report from the Wall Street Journal that Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has laid off more than 1,000 people in recent weeks. "The regulatory environment is changing," said Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at crypto asset manager Astronaut Capital. Still, crypto investors have taken encouragement from the world's biggest asset manager, BlackRock (BLK.N), filing to launch a bitcoin exchange traded fund last month.

Persons: XRP, Coinbase, Bitcoin, Matthew Dibb, Justin d'Anethan, Binance.US, bode, Sam Bankman, Alex Mashinsky, Patrick Hillmann, Hillmann, We'd, Chris Weston, it's, Vidya Ranganathan, Simon Cameron, Moore, Alex Richardson, Josie Kao Organizations: Labs, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Wall Street, Capital, SEC, U.S, Wall, Twitter, BlackRock, Fidelity, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, WASHINGTON, U.S, California , New Jersey, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Asia, Keyrock, Hong Kong, XRP, reining, China, Binance, Melbourne, Singapore

☆ CNBC Daily Open: The S&P 500 can hit a record high
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Visitors around the 'Charging Bull' statue near the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Thursday, June 29, 2023. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Excluding food, energy and trade services, the core producer price index rose 0.1%, lower than the forecasted 0.2%. Celsius chargesFormer Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was arrested Thursday on federal securities fraud charges, a source told CNBC. CNBC Pro's Bob Pisani breaks down why stock prices might stagnate in that scenario.

Persons: Bob Iger, CNBC's David Faber, Iger, Alex Mashinsky, that's, Bob Pisani Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, CNBC, U.S, Disney, ABC, ESPN, Marvel, Star Wars, SEC Locations: New York

☆ CNBC Daily Open: The S&P 500 may hit a record high
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Visitors around the 'Charging Bull' statue near the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Thursday, June 29, 2023. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Excluding food, energy and trade services, the core producer price index rose 0.1%, lower than the forecasted 0.2%. Celsius chargesFormer Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was arrested Thursday on federal securities fraud charges, a source told CNBC. CNBC Pro searched for companies that analysts are bullish on, and which are due to report earnings next week.

Persons: Michele Bullock, Bob Iger, CNBC's David Faber, Iger, Alex Mashinsky Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, CNBC, U.S, Singapore's Straits Times, Reserve Bank of Australia, Disney, ABC, ESPN, Marvel, Star Wars, SEC, CNBC Pro Locations: New York, Asia, Pacific, Australia

☆ Crypto scores a key legal victory in long-running regulatory feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The news sent the price of XRP, a token designed for cross-border payments, up some 70% to about 92 cents. Torres’ ruling did fall partly in the SEC’s favor, as she found that some of Ripple’s sales — to hedge funds and other sophisticated buyers — did violate securities laws. Gensler has said that most crypto tokens — with bitcoin as a notable exception — are securities that fall under the SEC’s jurisdiction. ‘Some much needed sunlight’Despite the nuance of Torres’ ruling, crypto investors are cheering it as a long overdue win. “This ruling, although nuanced, provides some much needed sunlight and cheer into the altcoin space, those non-Bitcoin tokens.”

Persons: Analisa Torres, XRP, Gary Gensler, Torres ’, Stuart Alderoty, ”, “ XRP, “ We’ll, Gensler, Teresa Goody Guillén, Coinbase, Torres, Sam Bankman, Alex Mashinsky, Mashinsky, Antoni Trenchev Organizations: New, New York CNN, Securities and Exchange Commission, Southern, of, SEC Locations: New York, of New York, United States

NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - Alex Mashinsky, founder and former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, pleaded not guilty Thursday to U.S. fraud charges that he misled customers and artificially inflated the value of his company's propriety crypto token. Three federal regulatory agencies also sued Mashinsky and Celsius in connection with the case. Mashinsky, 57, was charged with seven criminal counts - including securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud - according to an indictment unsealed earlier on Thursday. Its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was charged with fraud last year, and has pleaded not guilty. "Whether it's old-school fraud or some new-school crypto scheme, it doesn't matter one bit.

Persons: Alex Mashinsky, Mashinsky, Sam Bankman, Fried, Ona Wang, Roni Cohen, Pavon, Cohen, Damian Williams, Williams, Hannah Lang, Luc Cohen, Chris Prentice, Elizabeth Howcroft, Chizu Nomiyama, Michelle Price, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: YORK, Prosecutors, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Futures Trading Commission, Federal Trade Commission, U.S, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, Israeli, U.S, Hoboken , New Jersey, Washington, New York, Bengaluru, London

☆ Crypto Lender Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky Arrested, Sued by Regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Dave Michaels | Vicky Ge Huang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/crypto-lender-celsius-ceo-alex-mashinsky-arrested-sued-by-regulators-5169ff4d

Persons: Dow Jones, mashinsky

July 13 (Reuters) - Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, was arrested and charged with fraud, a U.S. prosecutor in New York said Thursday, while three federal regulatory agencies sued him and his company. Mashinsky, 57, was charged with seven criminal counts - including securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud - while Celsius' former chief revenue officer, Roni Cohen-Pavon, was charged with four criminal counts, according to the indictment, which was unsealed on Thursday. Its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was charged with fraud last year, and has pleaded not guilty. Crypto lenders such as Celsius grew rapidly as crypto prices surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Trade Commission also sued Celsius and Mashinsky.

Persons: Alex Mashinsky, Roni Cohen, Pavon, Cohen, Sam Bankman, Fried, Mashinsky, Niket, Hannah Lang, Elizabeth Howcroft, Chris Prentice, Shinjini Ganguli, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Mashinsky, Attorney's, Prosecutors, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Arrows Capital, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Network, Coinbase, Arbinet, Transit Wireless, Thomson Locations: U.S, New York, Manhattan, New Jersey, cryptocurrency, Singapore, Bengaluru, Washington, London

☆ Former Celsius CEO arrested, company agrees to pay $4.7 billion settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was arrested Thursday on federal securities fraud charges, a source told CNBC as the bankrupt crypto exchange agreed to pay a $4.7 billion settlement with government regulators. Federal prosecutors also charged Mashinsky with securities, commodities, and wire fraud, as well as various securities manipulation and fraud charges. Both the charging documents from New York federal prosecutors and the SEC complaint also describe Celsius' exchange token as a security. Earlier this year, New York prosecutors accused Mashinsky of orchestrating a $20 billion fraud against investors. CNBC previously reported on pervasive, yearslong issues that plagued the crypto exchange well before it filed for bankruptcy in 2022.

Persons: Alex Mashinsky, Roni Cohen, Pavon, Mashinsky Organizations: CNBC, SEC, Meta, FTC Locations: New York

☆ Ex-Celsius CEO is charged with fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —US prosecutors charged the former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency platform Celsius Networks with defrauding customers and misleading them about the company’s business. An indictment unsealed Thursday in New York charges Alexander Mashinsky with securities fraud, wire fraud and commodities fraud. “Mashinsky portrayed Celsius as a modern-day bank, where customers could safely deposit crypto assets and earn interest,” the indictment states. Earlier this year, the New York attorney general’s office also sued Mashinsky for fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil fraud charges against Celsius and Mashinsky, and is seeking to permanently ban him from running an exchange and from buying or selling cryptocurrencies.

Persons: Alexander Mashinsky, Roni Cohen, Pavon, “ Mashinsky, Mashinsky, Sam Bankman, Binance, Benjamin Allee, “ Alex Mashinsky, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Commodity Futures, Commission, US, Southern, of, Federal Trade Commission, Securities, Exchange Commission Locations: New York, FTX, of New York

Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former chief executive of the bankrupt cryptocurrency firm Celsius, was arrested on Thursday and charged with fraud, federal prosecutors said. Mr. Mashinsky was also sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. Mr. Mashinsky was arrested at his home in New York, a person close to the investigation said. The charges against him include wire fraud, commodities fraud and manipulation of securities prices. As its charismatic pitchman, Mr. Mashinsky appeared in YouTube videos where he claimed that Celsius was a safer, more egalitarian alternative to traditional banks.

Persons: Alex Mashinsky, Mashinsky Organizations: Securities and Exchange Commission, Futures Trading Commission, Federal Trade Commission Locations: New York

☆ CFTC investigators conclude Celsius, ex-CEO broke rules - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 5 (Reuters) - Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) investigators have concluded that bankrupt crypto lender Celsius and its former CEO Alex Mashinsky broke U.S. rules before the firm's implosion, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. Attorneys in the regulator's enforcement unit determined that Celsius misled investors and should have registered with the regulator, according to the report, citing people familiar with the matter. Celsius and the CFTC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Last year's market turmoil after the collapse of TerraUSD led to the failure of several major crypto companies including Celsius Network. As part of Celsius' bankruptcy case, an independent examiner was appointed to investigate accusations that Celsius had operated as a Ponzi scheme and report on how it handled crypto assets.

Persons: Alex Mashinsky, TerraUSD, Akanksha, Rashmi Organizations: Futures Trading Commission, Bloomberg, CFTC, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

New Jersey-based Celsius filed for U.S. bankruptcy in July last year, after freezing customer withdrawals from its platform. She was tasked with investigating accusations by Celsius customers that the company operated as a Ponzi scheme and also with reporting on its handling of cryptocurrency deposits. Celsius gathered crypto deposits from retail customers and invested them in the equivalent of the wholesale crypto market. It raised some of the initial capital to fund its business by creating and selling its own crypto token, called "CEL". "The business model Celsius advertised and sold to its customers was not the business that Celsius actually operated," the report said.

☆ Ponzi probe finds bankrupt crypto lender Celsius wasn't doing business the way it told customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Celsius misled customers when it advertised its business model, a court-appointed examiner said. The crypto lender filed for bankruptcy in June as the market collapsed. Examiner Shoba Pillay said the lender was making the market for its CEL coin by buying it. Pillay said Celsius spent $558 million buying its own Celsius token on the market in a bid to prop up its flagging assets. "In effect, Celsius bought every CEL token in the market at least one time and in some instances, twice," Pillay wrote.

☆ Celsius bankruptcy examiner expected to report on Ponzi allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 30 (Reuters) - A court-ordered examiner is expected to release a report on Monday addressing whether bankrupt crypto firm Celsius Network operated as a Ponzi scheme, which could add to the pressure on founder Alex Mashinsky, who is already facing fraud allegations. Hoboken, New Jersey-based Celsius filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors last July in Manhattan after freezing customer withdrawals from its platform. After appointing Pillay to the job, Glenn expanded her role by asking her to address persistent customer complaints about Mashinsky's conduct. Crypto exchange FTX, which went bankrupt in November, has resisted calls for an examiner in its own Chapter 11 case, citing the cost of overlapping investigations. Pillay and her team have sought to be paid $1.86 million for work performed in October and $1.69 million for November, according to court filings.

☆ New York’s financial regulator takes aim at firms co-mingling crypto funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Hannah Lang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Concerns about the crossover between the two firms helped fuel a flurry of customer withdrawals in November, forcing the exchange to file for bankruptcy. New York requires firms to undergo examinations making sure they are in-line with state requirements and comply with know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and capital requirements. Most other states do not subject crypto firms to examinations. Crypto firms' compliance with anti-money laundering rules has also been "a big issue," she said, one she expects her office will continue focusing on in 2023. Earlier in the month, NYDFS announced a $100 million settlement with Coinbase Inc (COIN.O) over the firm's compliance with rules to prevent money laundering.

Sam Bankman-Fried published an extensive blog post Thursday morning attempting to explain the collapse of FTX, the crypto platform he co-founded, and denying allegations that he stole any funds. “I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away,” Bankman-Fried wrote in the blog post. NBC News has not verified any of the various balance sheets Bankman-Fried published in the blog post. Bankman-Fried wrote: “FTX International has many billions of dollars of assets, and I am dedicating nearly all of my personal assets to customers. In the blog post, Bankman-Fried called the move by Zhao “a targeted attack” on Alameda.

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