On Wednesday, Matthew Ballensweig, managing director of cryptocurrency broker Genesis, announced via Linkedin that he was formally leaving his post after over five years of tenure. Ballensweig is also the co-head of sales and trading. As told by Ballensweig, he has been transitioning his core responsibilities to a handful of trusted colleagues who will be taking the front-line role. "I am forever thankful to both Digital Currency Group [Genesis' parent company] and Genesis for giving me the opportunity to build a capital markets business from the ground up. We built an eight-person company huddled in a small office in New …

Crypto exchange FTX, led by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), is reportedly considering bailing out Celsius Network by bidding on the bankrupt lender’s assets. Coincidently, the information came out the same day Alex Mashinsky resigned as the CEO of Celsius. “I regret that my continued role as CEO has become an increasing distraction, and I am very sorry about the difficult financial circumstances members of our community are facing,” said Mashinsky while explaining his decision. For FTX, acquiring the assets of Celsius would imply the exchange’s intent to save the lending firm, similar to what FTX US did for Voyager …

According to a new press release published on Tuesday, Alex Mashinsky, CEO of troubled crypto lender Celsius Network, has resigned effective immediately. In explaining the decision, Mashinsky wrote: "I regret that my continued role as CEO has become an increasing distraction, and I am very sorry about the difficult financial circumstances members of our community are facing. Since the pause, I have worked tirelessly to help the company and its advisors put forward a viable plan for the Company to return coins to creditors in the fairest and most efficient way." Founded in 2017, Celsius Network was a rising star …

Digital asset lending platform Nexo has purchased a stake in a holding company that owns a federally chartered bank in the United States — a move Nexo said will enhance its ability to serve retail and institutional clients. Nexo disclosed Tuesday that it had acquired a stake in Hulett Bancorp, a holding company that owns the federally chartered Summit National Bank, which is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The terms of Nexo’s acquisition and its ownership stake in Hulett Bancorp were not revealed. The acquisition gives Nexo and its customers the ability to open bank …

If you’ve spent any time reading about blockchain and Web3, you know that this industry is filled with big buzzwords and half-baked concepts. But, concepts such as decentralized identity services, or DIDs, bring real meaning and utility to Web3. If you haven’t yet wrapped your mind around DID, it refers to a self-owned, independent identity that enables trusted data exchange. In other words, it puts digital identity management and administration directly in your hands instead of some third party’s. In this week’s Crypto Biz, we take a look at a Web3 partnership designed to bring DID-powered payment solutions to Africa. …

An international law firm representing groups of Celsius investors has filed a motion to appoint a committee to represent their interests in the crypto lending firm’s bankruptcy case. In a Thursday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, lawyers with the law firm Milbank requested the appointment of a ‘Official Preferred Equity Committee’ to represent certain Celsius shareholders. According to the filing, the equity holders “urgently require their own fiduciary” for representation in court alongside Celsius debtors and an Unsecured Creditors Committee, or UCC. “The need for a fiduciary to pursue the Equity Holders’ …

Quantitative trading company Alameda Research will return an estimate of $200 million to Voyager Digital, which is proceeding through bankruptcy. Alameda borrowed the funds in cryptocurrencies in September 2021. At that time, the sum was close to $380 million. Per a recent filing in the Bankruptcy Court of Southern District of New York, the parties have reached an agreement, and Alameda will return around 6,553 Bitcoin (BTC) and 51,000 Ether (ETH) by Sept. 30. In its corporate Twitter account Alameda confirmed its readiness to return the funds: happy to return the Voyager loan and get our collateral back whenever works …

Celsius Networks, a crypto lending company that had frozen the withdrawals in June and has been proceeding through Chapter 11 bankruptcy since July, asked the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for permission to sell its stablecoin holdings. This should let the company generate liquidity to help “fund the Debtors’ operations.” A notice was filed by the Celsius’ legal team from Kirkland & Ellis law firm on Sept. 15, a hearing where the court would accept or decline it will take place on Oct. 6. According to the filing, the company currently holds an equivalent …

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand is preparing to take radical measures in the aftermath of crypto lending platforms’ crashes experienced in Summer 2022. Thai SEC plans to prohibit crypto platforms from providing or supporting digital asset depository services. The announcement, published on the official webpage on Sept. 15, reports that the SEC has opened a public hearing on the matter and will be collecting opinions until Oct. 17. In principle, the regulator intends to ban any staking and lending services from the “digital asset business operators” to protect traders and the general public from the “risks of …

Crypto lending platform Celsius, currently in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings, reportedly plans to rebuild around crypto custody services. According to a Tuesday report from the New York Times, Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky and head of innovation and chief compliance officer Oren Blonstein aimed to revive the company using a project named Kelvin — storing users’ crypto and charging fees on certain transactions. Mashinsky reportedly made the announcement at a Sept. 8 meeting for employees, at which the company discussed possible scenarios for its future after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July. A legal entity representing Celsius’ creditors, called …

The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, or DFR, alleged crypto lending platform Celsius Network and CEO Alex Mashinsky misled state regulators about the firm’s financial health and its compliance with securities laws. In a Wednesday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, Vermont’s financial regulator said Celsius and Mashinsky “made false and misleading claims to investors” which allegedly downplayed concerns about volatility in the crypto market, encouraging retail investors to leave their funds on the platform or make new investments. According to the state regulator, Celsius and its CEO “lacked sufficient assets to repay …

Bankrupt centralized crypto lender Voyager Digital filed a notice Tuesday with United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York informing the court of its intention to hold an auction of its remaining assets. The auction is proposed to take place on Sept. 13 at the Manhattan office of Digital Voyager’s investment banker Moelis & Company, with a hearing to approve the results on Sept. 29. Offers for the lender’s assets have already been submitted. Voyagers, we want to let you know that multiple bids were submitted as part of the company’s restructuring process. As a result, an …