Celsius Makes More Repayments and Withdrawal: Sources

Celsius Network has repaid partial debts to decentralized finance and lending platforms Aave and Compound respectively, as it continues to tackle the potential insolvency issue.

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According to tracker Etherscan, the crypto lender repaid $78.1 million worth of USDC stablecoin to Aave and $35 million worth of stablecoin DAI on the platform Compound.

The Block reported that Celsius also withdrew 6,083 wrapped bitcoin (worth approximately $124 million) from Aave and transferred them to an Ethereum address known to interact with centralized exchanges regularly.

The Block also added that the fund transfer to Aave was made in four transactions. It further reported that the crypto lender has cleared its debt last week on MakerDAO before withdrawing $440 million in wrapped bitcoin.

The crypto firm has started clearing debts to free up its collateral in decentralized-finance applications.

However, the troubled crypto firm still owes $72 million in USDC to Aave and $50 million in DAI to Compound, according to on-chain data gathered from its wallets.

While data from Nansen and Etherscan data showed that digital wallets belonging to Celsius paid back more than $300 million worth of debt to various platforms since July 1, 2020.

Celsius has frozen withdrawals since the beginning of the recent market downturn in June, while other crypto firms, Voyager Digital Ltd. and Three Arrows Capital, recently filed for bankruptcy.

Celsius had positioned itself in the market by promising more than 18% in interest to peoples’ holdings who gave it their digital coins. The crypto lender, in turn, lent those coins out, Bloomberg reported.

Besides clearing debts, the crypto lender has also started the restructuring process.

Celsius has hired new lawyers to advise the troubled cryptocurrency lender on restructuring, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The much-needed restructuring plan has come as it seeks to escape the recent turmoil in crypto markets, the WSJ said, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the WSJ report, Kirkland & Ellis LLP lawyers have been called on board to advise Celsius on options, including a bankruptcy filing.

The lawyers have replaced the company’s previous lead restructuring counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

Since the company’s stagnation due to the market plunge, it has been in an unstable liquidity position. As part of its recovery efforts, Celsius has also appointed Citigroup to advise it on potential financing options.

The WSJ reported that Celsius is also reshuffling its board as they appointed two new directors last week.

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Platform Has a Strong Case against SEC, says Grayscale’s CLO

A legal official of Grayscale Investment said the company has confidence in a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company is struggling in a legal battle with SEC for applying to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) product to a spot Bitcoin ETF. 

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For many that might have been wondering whether Grayscale Investments has a chance against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whom it dragged to the Court of Appeals, the company’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Craig Salm has affirmed that the case the firm has against the regulator is a solid one.

Grayscale initiated a lawsuit last month when it received a rejection decision with respect to its application to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) product to a spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). Drawing on the success of the GBTC product amongst investors, Grayscale said it has hoped to step up the designation, and regulatory provisions of the product by upgrading its status.

The SEC, however, did not see the company’s ways and like other notable Bitcoin ETF rejections, the regulator said it has issues with how the price for the spot BTC ETF will not be subject to manipulations. To back its Petition for Review filed with the Appellate Court, Craig said that the SEC is contradicting itself considering it has previously approved a slew of Bitcoin Futures ETF in the US.

To Grayscale, both Bitcoin Futures and Spot Bitcoin ETFs derive their prices from spot Bitcoin making them very similar. In an expository Q&A, Craig said the timeline for the completion of this legal brawl is indeterminate, but from precedent, it may take as much as 12 to 24 months.

“We can’t be certain about timing, but based on how long federal litigation tends to take – including briefings, oral arguments, and a final court decision – it can typically take anywhere from twelve months to two years, but could be shorter or longer. However long it takes, we believe the strength of our arguments should result in a final decision in our favor at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals,” he said.

Grayscale is one of the few firms that report its products to the SEC and Craig confirmed that the lawsuit will not alter its working relationship with the regulator. Its confidence in beating the SEC is hinged on its strong case and the prowess of renowned solicitor, Donald B. Verrilli whom the firm recently onboard as a part of its legal team.

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KuCoin Refutes Job Cut Rumours, Disclosing to Hire amid Crypto Winter

KuCoin, a global crypto exchange headquartered in Seychelles, has refuted rumours that it intends to lay off employees.

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Currently, more than 3,500 employees have been affected by massive job cuts in the crypto market, but it appears that the worst is yet to come. Many other exchanges, including KuCoin, among others, were reportedly identified as planning to downsize their workforce in the recent few weeks ago.

Johnny Lyu, KuCoin CEO, disclosed on Monday that the exchange plans to recruit over 300 employees in the next coming months. The executive commented: “KuCoin has not reduced staff and does not plan to do so. We are one of the few crypto platforms that continue to grow by relying on an effective business strategy, focusing on releasing new products and maintaining a healthy atmosphere in our team.”

Lyu mentioned that the firm was doing everything it could to enhance its employees’ productivity and motivation while also focusing on expanding compliance and innovation.

The CEO added the total number of the firm’s employees recently surpassed 1,000 and the firm currently seeks to hire 300 more. Roles open are from the company’s marketing, compliance, and technology teams, the executive said.  

Lyu further stated: “We believe that our bet on growth in times of market turbulence is the only correct decision that helps us maintain a high bar. Any conversations asserting the opposite should be considered untenable.”

The Current Downsize Trend

It has been a brutal period for the crypto sector since May this year. Digital tokens have fallen across the board, and at the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin trades below $20,000 per coin.

The ongoing bear market has struck a significant blow to the industry’s labour market. Many major firms, including US-based exchanges Gemini, BlockFi, Coinbase, Singapore-based crypto exchange Bybit, Austria-based Bitpanda, and Mexican exchange Bitso, have recently laid off multiple employees. And the wave of cuts appears to be gaining momentum.

However, a few crypto firms have recently said they are still hiring. Mid-last month, San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken announced that it plans to fill an additional 500 roles at the company within this year.

On 15th July, crypto exchange Binance also said it is expanding its hiring currently, with plans to hire over 2000 job positions open from engineers, product, marketing to business development, among others.

Last month, Sam Bankman-Fried-led crypto exchange FTX also disclosed that it is hiring more staff and will still continue doing so.

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KuCoin Refutes Job Cut Rumours, Disclosing to Hire amid Crypto Winter

KuCoin, a global crypto exchange headquartered in Seychelles, has refuted rumours that it intends to lay off employees.

Currently, more than 3,500 employees have been affected by massive job cuts in the crypto market, but it appears that the worst is yet to come. Many other exchanges, including KuCoin, among others, were reportedly identified as planning to downsize their workforce in the recent few weeks ago.

Johnny Lyu, KuCoin CEO, disclosed on Monday that the exchange plans to recruit over 300 employees in the next coming months. The executive commented: “KuCoin has not reduced staff and does not plan to do so. We are one of the few crypto platforms that continue to grow by relying on an effective business strategy, focusing on releasing new products and maintaining a healthy atmosphere in our team.”

Lyu mentioned that the firm was doing everything it could to enhance its employees’ productivity and motivation while also focusing on expanding compliance and innovation.

The CEO added the total number of the firm’s employees recently surpassed 1,000 and the firm currently seeks to hire 300 more. Roles open are from the company’s marketing, compliance, and technology teams, the executive said.  

Lyu further stated: “We believe that our bet on growth in times of market turbulence is the only correct decision that helps us maintain a high bar. Any conversations asserting the opposite should be considered untenable.”

The Current Downsize Trend

It has been a brutal period for the crypto sector since May this year. Digital tokens have fallen across the board, and at the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin trades below $20,000 per coin.

The ongoing bear market has struck a significant blow to the industry’s labour market. Many major firms, including US-based exchanges Gemini, BlockFi, Coinbase, Singapore-based crypto exchange Bybit, Austria-based Bitpanda, and Mexican exchange Bitso, have recently laid off multiple employees. And the wave of cuts appears to be gaining momentum.

However, a few crypto firms have recently said they are still hiring. Mid-last month, San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken announced that it plans to fill an additional 500 roles at the company within this year.

On 15th July, crypto exchange Binance also said it is expanding its hiring currently, with plans to hire over 2000 job positions open from engineers, product, marketing to business development, among others.

Last month, Sam Bankman-Fried-led crypto exchange FTX also disclosed that it is hiring more staff and will still continue doing so.

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Iranians Permitted to Trade on Binance, Despite US Imposes Sanctions: Reuters

A recent report from Reuters is yet again indicting Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform.

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The report said the exchange permitted Iranian users to trade on its platform after the United States reimposed sanctions on the country back in 2018. 

According to the authors of the report, as many as 7 Iranians have confirmed that they maintained the use of the Binance platform from the time of the sanction back in August-November 2018 until September last year. Many of those who spoke to Reuters acknowledge the ease of use of the Binance platform which further offers very robust liquidity for a wide range of crypto assets.

Back in 2015, Iran inked a nuclear pact with world dealers making the US and other Western allies taper down some of their sanctions on the country at the time. The US reimposed the sanctions when the withdrawal of the US by former President Donald Trump from the Iranian peace deal. The setback of these sanctions fueled a massive decline in the Iranian economy, and an attractive basis for traders to rely on cryptocurrencies, through the Binance exchange.

Access to the Binance platform by the Iranian traders was cut off around last year September. However, the trading platform according to lawyers who spoke to Reuters stands a risk of being investigated by the US government. Although there is a point of whether the usage of the exchange was primarily focused on users using the trading platform to circumvent the sanctions, a trend that can tell if Binance will go scot-free.

Binance is always in the cross-hairs with the media when it comes to its operational ethics. Reuters has been particularly interested in Binance, as the renowned media outfit said back in June, this year that Binance was used as a conduit for money laundering and has facilitated as much as $2.4 billion in transactions.

Binance has denied these claims as well as other claims flying around with a confirmation that the exchange is renewing its approaches to maintain a healthy relationship with regulators. This is seen in the series of approvals to operate in key economies the firm has received, the latest of which is Spain.

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