Autor Cointelegraph By Brian Quarmby

DOJ objects to Celsius plans to reopen withdrawals and sell stablecoins

DOJ objects to Celsius plans to reopen withdrawals and sell stablecoins

Uverejnil používateľ | okt 3, 2022 |

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has submitted an objection to Celsius’ motion to reopen withdrawals for select customers and sell its stablecoin holdings.The DOJ is asserting that the state of Celsius’ financials are lacking transparency, and that key decisions like this should not be considered until the independent examiner report has been filed. The move by the DOJ adds to the objections filed last week by the Texas State Securities Board, the Texas Department of Banking, and the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation. All three are opposed to Celsius selling its stablecoin holdings, asserting there’s a risk the firm could use the capital to resume operating in violation of state laws. In a Sept. 30 filing with the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, a U.S. Trustee for the DOJ, William Harrington outlined an objection to Celsius opening up withdrawals to its “custody” and “withhold” customers, citing a lack of transparency over the firm’s financials. Harrington argues in the filing that such withdrawals should not be opened up until the independent examiner report on Celsius business operations has been completed. “The Motions are premature and should be denied until after the Examiner Report is filed. First, the Withdrawal Motion seeks to impulsively distribute funds to one group of creditors in advance of a fulsome understanding of the Debtors’ cryptocurrency holdings.”The DOJ has also opposed a potential stablecoin sell off, highlighting similar concerns held by Texas and Vermont regulators that Celsius’ motion doesn’t concretely outline “what impact such a distribution or sale would have” on the business moving forward. “Second, the Stablecoin Motion seeks to liquidate stablecoins held by the Debtors without providing information regarding ownership, segregation, or the impact of such sale on later distributions to creditors who may have stablecoins on deposit with the Debtors,” the filing reads.Independent examiner appointedAccording to Harrington, the “United States Trustee appointed Shoba Pillay” the examiner on Sept. 29, with the New York Bankruptcy court approving the appointment on the same day. Pillay will have roughly two months to prepare and file an examiner’s report on Celsius, hopefully providing a clear breakdown of its assets and liabilities. Harrington essentially asserted that Celsius’ motions should not even be considered until well after the examiner report has been filed, noting that “any distribution or sale should be deferred until interested parties, the United States Trustee, and the Court are able to make a determination” on the value of Celsius liabilities, claims against it, its assets and what “the debtors intends to actually pay its creditors.”Related: Crypto Biz: The Voyager Digital auction is over — What now?Simon Dixon, the founder of crypto investment platform BnkToTheFuture — which was the lead investor in Celsius — predicted via Twitter on Oct. 1 that Celsius will look to repay its creditors in Celsius (CEL) tokens as part of a reorganization plan that ultimately “won’t get past regulators & regulators will file motions to reject” it. If such occurs, Dixon sees it sparking a bidding war for Celsius assets, similar to that of Voyager Digital’s recent $1.3 billion asset auction that was won by FTX US.3/9) This will drive the vultures into a bidding process where the vultures will try & buy the assets we paid for without our consent & FTX & TradFi will give us pennies on the dollar. It will be a lot worse for creditors than @investvoyager due to size of hole. pic.twitter.com/4EqspGx9iF— Simon Dixon (Beware Impersonators) (@SimonDixonTwitt) October 1, 2022

Čítaj viac
Blockchain gamers surge as users attempt 'stacking crypto,' says DappRadar

Blockchain gamers surge as users attempt 'stacking crypto,' says DappRadar

Uverejnil používateľ | sep 30, 2022 |

User activity on blockchain gaming decentralized applications (DApps) surged in September, with a host of games posting significant increases in the number of active users. According to data from DappRadar, seven out of the top 10 games in terms of the number of “unique wallet addresses interacting with dapp’s smart contracts” increased over the past 30 days, with all of the top five games being in the green during that time frame. At the time of writing, the DApps registering growth in the period include Web3 gaming platform Gameta, and blockchain-based games Alien Worlds, Solitaire Blitz, Benji Bananas, and Splinterlands, Farmers World, and Arc8 by GAMEE. In a Sept. 27 blog post, DappRadar noted that eight of the current top 10 blockchain games are mobile-first, which could eventually “bring millions of users to the blockchain,” noting: “Dapp games like Gameta, Benji Bananas, Upland, and Trickshot Blitz let anyone with a mobile device earn crypto with little prior knowledge, investment, or risk.”“Using daily activities like hyper-casual mobile games as a hook ensures users find fun once they interact, while solid tokenomics can encourage everyday use and retention,” it added. DappRadar said one of the possible reasons for a rise in popularity of blockchain games despite the bear market, is the idea of “bleed in the bear and run in the bull.”“The idea that stacking crypto and investments in a bear market pays off in the bull is almost proven at this point.”The biggest uptick in users came from Animoca Brands’ Benji Bananas (Polygon) which saw a 2016.54% increase over the past 30 days. Notably, this game was a Web2 mobile app until March this year.  Animoca then introduced play-to-earn (P2E) elements via the Bored Ape Yacht Club affiliated Ape Coin (APE). While it is unclear what specifically saw the number of Benji Bananas users increase by so much, it did host a P2E gaming event this month that offered a series of valuable in-game NFTs to the winners. Blockchain gaming DApps activity: DappRadarOut of the top 10 games, only Axie Infinity, Trickshot Blitz, and Upland saw decreases over the past 30-days.The increase of blockchain gamers this month comes as publications such as Bloomberg note in a Sept. 28 article that the highly correlated NFT market trading “frenzy is almost dead.” It points to overall NFT trading volumes dropping 97% since January as evidence of such. As Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu pointed out via Twitter on Sept. 30, purely looking at the metric of NFT sales volume doesn’t necessarily paint the whole picture in NFTs or gaming. Siu highlighted that NFT prices have generally declined in accordance with the price of their paired assets such as Ether (ETH,) while many games — that don’t often grab the headlines — require NFTs that are relatively cheap. He instead emphasized that user activity and the number of people entering Web3 is where the focus should be. 6/ Judging an entire market simply by one metric is imperfect you need to take a multifaceted lens eg. @TheSandboxGame has seen record growth in users in its last season despite the market and blockchain wallets continues to rise https://t.co/brvDgCAhqh— Yat Siu (@ysiu) September 29, 2022Gods Unchained breaks 10 top NFT salesMeanwhile, NFT-based card battle game Gods Unchained has seen its NFT sales volume creep into the top 10 in NFT sales volume over the past 30 days, according to Cryptoslam. Gods Unchained has seen a 373.25% increase over the past 30 days to sit at $10.8 million at the time of writing. This marks the first time the game has seen NFT sales top $10 million since January, and after a very slow February to August period.Related: Yat Siu: Asia GameFi opportunity huge as gamers don’t hate NFTsReasons behind this could be due to discussions of a “Season 2” upgrade to improve the game and lore in the works and GameStop offering free NFT packs to Pro members this month. While an esports tournament with a $70,000 prize pool was also announced at the start of this week. Gods Unchained has also seen a significant increase in active users over the past 30 days, gaining 28.50% to sit at around 14,180 according to DappRadar. The game still has a long way to catch up to the top 10 however, as its user count places it at twenty-eighth.

Čítaj viac
Texas, Vermont regulators object to Celsius stablecoin sale plan

Texas, Vermont regulators object to Celsius stablecoin sale plan

Uverejnil používateľ | sep 30, 2022 |

State regulators from Texas and Vermont have filed a motion objecting to embattled crypto lender Celsius’ plans to sell off its stablecoin holdings. Separate motions from both regulators filed on Sept. 29 argue that there’s a risk the firm could use the capital to resume operating in violation of state laws. The filings come after a Sept. 15 notice from Celsius’ legal team asking the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for permission to sell its stablecoin holdings, reportedly worth around $23 million. A hearing to accept or decline the motion will occur on Oct. 6. However, the move has not gone down well with the Texas State Securities Board (SBB), the Texas Department of Banking, and the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, who filed objections on Sept. 29. The two Texan regulators in a joint filing outlined that “more than 40 states” are currently investigating Celsius’ pre-bankruptcy activities in relation to potential unregistered securities offerings. Texas regulators also highlighted a concern that if Celsius sells off its holdings, the firm may resume non-compliant offerings in the state, given that it is still not registered with the Texas SBB. At the same time, the Vermont regulator also highlighted similar concerns in its own objection. A key concern across the regulators is that the firm hasn’t explicitly outlined what it will do with the funds after it sells the stablecoins.“It is not at all clear what the debtors intend to do with the proceeds of any such sales, whether the relief requested extends to Stablecoin-denominated assets such as retail loans to consumers, and the degree to which Debtors’ use of sale proceeds will be supervised by the Court,” the Vermont regulator’s filing reads, while the Texan filing notes that: “Texas is extremely concerned by the Debtors’ request for an order that allows ambiguously broad authority to sell and/or exchange the assets.”As such, the state regulators are requesting that Celsius’ motion be denied, with the Texan regulators asserting that it would “only act to confound the examination and further muddy the already opaque waters that are the Debtors’ cryptocurrency assets.”Related: FTX reportedly considers bailing out Celsius via asset bidHowever, the Texan regulators also said that should the motion in question be approved, the “relief granted to the Debtors should be limited to selling stablecoin and holding the proceeds of such sale solely for the benefit of creditors of the bankruptcy estate.”The Celsius bankruptcy case has been highly complicated thus far, given the cloudy nature of the firm’s balance sheet. Earlier this month, the United States Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York granted a motion for Celsius to appoint an independent examiner to investigate aspects of its business.

Čítaj viac
Nexo ‘surprised’ by state regulators' actions, says co-founder

Nexo ‘surprised’ by state regulators' actions, says co-founder

Uverejnil používateľ | sep 29, 2022 |

Kalin Metodiev, the co-founder and managing partner of crypto lender Nexo stated his firm was “surprised” by the way in which eight state regulators publicly took action against it for securities violations.Earlier this week the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI) filed a desist and refrain order against Nexo’s Earn Interest Product, claiming the company was offering a security product that had not been cleared by the government for sale in the form of an investment contract. The DFPI also stated that it was joining regulators from seven other states in taking action against the company, including Kentucky, New York, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington and Vermont. Speaking with Cointelegraph at Token2049, Metodiev explained that Nexo was caught off guard with the latest regulatory push back, as it has been “trying to be responsible” by engaging in direct conversations with the regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) for quite some time. “We were a little surprised by this news being thrown out there in public, you know, because this isn’t a process that just started this week,” he said, adding that:“We have worked with our legal advisors in the U.S. that we have used for the last couple of years to navigate us specifically through these waters in these conversations.”Kalin Metodiev, the co-founder and managing partner of crypto lender NexoMetodiev said Nexo also communicated to the SEC earlier this year that it was “voluntarily” discontinuing services for new U.S. customers, suggesting the firm was working in good faith and aiming to be compliant with local regulations. The product has not been available to new users in the United States since Feb. 19, and existing U.S. account holders were unable to make new deposits into their accounts.“The event that made us make the decision was actually the SEC ruling against BlockFi in February. The moment we saw that we established contact with the SEC, and we communicated that we’re voluntarily discontinuing, taking money from U.S. customers. And we haven’t been working with new customers for our interest generating product.” Ultimately this hasn’t put Nexo off over providing services in the U.S. however, as the firm will continue to remain in conversations with regulators over its crypto offerings. Metodiev also highlighted that the company is looking at U.S. expansion through other avenues, pointing to Nexo acquiring a stake in Hulett Bancorp this week, a holding company that owns the federally chartered Summit National Bank.Nexo has also been out on the look out for crypto company acquisitions, with Metodiev noting that the firm has had discussions with a lot of liquidity troubled firms in the bear market, even the likes of Voyager Digital and Celsius. Related: FTX reportedly considers bailing out Celsius via asset bid While he stated discussions had been going well with various firms, he didn’t provide any concrete details on any deals that could be in the works. Metodiev suggested it had been priced out of a Voyager deal, as its $1.4 billion asset valuation that FTX snapped it up for, became too high for Nexo. “If the opportunity becomes too rich for us, as I mentioned, our risk management, kicks in and we say, you know, we’re not sure that we can break even on this. We want to help the people and the platform, but at the same time, it needs to be a normal business assessment for us,” he said.

Čítaj viac
Circle Product VP: USDC chain expansion part of 'multichain' vision

Circle Product VP: USDC chain expansion part of 'multichain' vision

Uverejnil používateľ | sep 29, 2022 |

USD Coin (USDC) issuers Circle have announced that it will soon roll out its stablecoin across five additional networks including Polkadot, Optimism, NEAR, Arbitrum and Cosmos. The firm first dropped the news at the Converge22 event on Sept. 28, and noted that support for most of these blockchains will be rolled out by the end of 2023, while USDC on Cosmos will go live at the start of 2023. In a Sept. 28 statement, Circle’s vice president of Product Joao Reginatto emphasized that the expansion of USDC will provide “greater liquidity and interoperability within the crypto economy,” especially for the commercial sector. “Extending multi-chain support for USDC opens the door for institutions, exchanges, developers and more to innovate and have easier access to a trusted and stable digital dollar,” he said. 3/ Upon launch, developers will be able to use Circle APIs for fiat on/off-ramps to and from USDC in their products, as well as programmable wallets infrastructure.— Circle | #ConvergeSF22 | Sept 27-30 (@circlepay) September 28, 2022In a follow-up interview with Cointelegraph, Reginatto outlined that while Circle initially built USDC on Ethereum as move of the development and activity was happening there, it always had a vision that the future would be a “multichain world.” As such, Circle is expanding USDC support under the premise of devs preferring interoperability over working with just one network: “We knew already at the time that there were a lot of interesting things happening in other ecosystems, and we thought that over time developers and application builders; they are not going to be so much concerned about the Layer 1 or the Layer 2 infrastructure that they’re using.”“They will want interoperability, they will want flexibility to be able to port their solutions across ecosystems,” he added. Reginatto did note however, while Circle is pushing ahead with expanding USDC support, given the current size of the stablecoin — with a market cap of $48.9 billion — the firm won’t just jump behind any network. He outlined that Circle conducts a lot of due diligence before it selects the next blockchain to work with. “There’s a lot of risks that we have now that we perhaps didn’t have two or three years ago. So we take it with a lot of diligence. We have a team of folks across all the functions in the company kind of assessing all these ecosystems and prioritizing them over time.Once the extra support is officially rolled out, USDC will be available on a total of 13 blockchains. In comparison, Circle’s main competitor Tether currently lists USDT support for eight networks on its website. “Upon launch, developers will be able to use Circle APIs for fiat on/off-ramps to and from USDC in their products, as well as programmable wallets infrastructure,” Circle stated on Twitter. Related: Circle CEO says blockchain industry is transitioning from dial-up to broadband phaseCommenting on the use cases for USDC and stablecoins in the current context of crypto, Reginatto highlighted key avenues such as marketplace payouts, remittances, and global settlements for financial institutions. “There’s no real good interoperability across all these banking systems and regional rails. Stablecoins have a really, really good value proposition for that.” “Stripe utilizing USDC rails for marketplace payouts. Embedding that as part of their marketplace payouts products, just being able to reach people that their customers need to pay out, that with traditional rails they can’t reach. So that there is clear concrete value that the substrate can deliver for those kinds of use cases,” he added.

Čítaj viac

Získaj BONUS 8 € v Bitcoinoch

nakup bitcoin z karty

Registrácia Binance

Burza Binance

Aktuálne kurzy