Day: July 13, 2023

Hedge Funds Investing in Crypto Fell in 2023; Long-Term Outlook Remains Robust: PwC

“Despite market volatility, a fall in digital asset prices and the collapse of a number of crypto businesses, investment in crypto-assets is expected to remain strong in 2023,” Jon Garvey, PwC United States’ global financial services leader, said. “Traditional hedge funds, committed to the market in the longer term, are not only increasing their crypto-assets under management, but also maintaining – if not increasing – the amount of capital deployed in the ecosystem.” Source

US SEC files lawsuit against Celsius and Alex Mashinsky: Report

boss

The United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly taking action against Celsius Network, one of the cryptocurrency lending firms that collapsed in 2022. The securities regulator filed a lawsuit against Celsius’ former CEO Alex Mashinsky on July 13, according to a report by Bloomberg. Details of the complaint weren’t immediately available, the report said. The same report suggested that Mashinsky was also arrested on Thursday morning, following a probe into the company’s collapse. The report cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The action comes shortly after the…

Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky reportedly arrested

boss

The former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto lender Celsius, Alex Mashinsky, was reportedly arrested on the morning of July 13. The news broke minutes after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against the crypto lender on the same day. The former CEO was reportedly arrested after a probe into the company’s collapse, reported Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Mashinsky on charges of fraud and intention to manipulate the market.  UPDATE: Per DOJ indictment, legal minds expect Alex Mashinsky to face a lengthy…

Bitget reserves top $1.44B, claims to be debt free

boss

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget says its total proof-of-reserves ratio has reached 223%. In a July 13 announcement, Bitget revealed that its total reserve currently stands at $1.44 billion spread across 31 different crypto assets. Reserve ratios for Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), Ether (ETH), and USD Coin (USDC) stand at 454%, 135%, 171% and 2,604%, respectively. In an interview, Bitget executives told Cointelegraph that the exchange “operates without relying on debt or users’ funds for its transactions or investments,” and that the company is “proud to be debt free.“ The firm wrote: “Bitget…

Real-World Asset Tokenization Platform Ondo Finance Expands Tokenized Treasurys to Polygon Network

Tokenized Treasurys has grown to a $600 million market, with Ondo Finance’s OUSG token claiming a significant share of $134 million since its inception in January. Flux Finance, developed by Ondo’s team and governed by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) through community votes, lets investors take out loans by pledging OUSG as collateral. It has $44 million of total value locked on the platform, according to DefiLlama. Source

Celsius Network’s Alex Mashinsky Is Arrested as SEC, CFTC, FTC Sue Bankrupt Crypto Lender

“Mashinsky portrayed Celsius as a modern-day bank, where customers could safely deposit crypto assets and earn interest. In truth, however, Mashinsky operated Celsius asa risky investment fund, taking in customer money under false and misleading pretenses,” the indictment said, adding that Mashinsky misled investors about loans being collateralized, counterparties defaulting and regulatory scrutiny. Source

Crypto AI Tokens SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.ai (FET) Rally After Musk Unveils New Company

Artificial intelligence (AI) related crypto tokens posted gains after Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday unveiled a new AI company called xAI as an alternative to popular chatbot ChatGPT. SingularityNET (AGIX) rose 11% over the past 24-hours, while Fetch.ai (FET) climbed about 7% over the same time period. The team will be led by Musk and includes members that have previously worked at DeepMind, OpenAI, Google Research, Microsoft Research, Tesla, and the University of Toronto, according to the company website. The newly formed company will be a separate…