A federal judge has approved a joint request from lawyers for Alex Mashinsky and the United States Department of Justice modifying the former Celsius CEO’s bail conditions to include electronic monitoring.
In an Aug. 8 filing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Gabriel Gorenstein signed off on a modification to Mashinsky’s $40-million bond ensured by his brokerage account at First Republic Bank and his New York home. Prosecutors and defense lawyers jointly signed a request to have Mashinsky under electronic monitoring and be restricted from withdrawing, transferring or receiving more than $10,000 without prior approval from the court. The bail modification would remove the need to use Mashinsky’s First Republic account to ensure the bond.
Following a motion from prosecutors with the consent of Mashinsky’s legal team, Judge John Koeltl ordered on Aug. 9 that most of the trial materials not publicly available could not be disclosed by any involved party, specifically mentioning social media posts on Facebook or Twitter (now X). The order included concerns about information being released that could lead to witnesses being intimidated.
Mashinsky, who was the CEO of the crypto lending platform Celsius Network until September 2022, faces charges of securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud for allegedly misleading and defrauding users. Following his arrest on July 13, he pleaded not guilty to all counts and was largely not allowed to travel as part of his bail conditions.
It’s unclear what form of electronic monitoring Mashinsky could have. The bail condition often comes with a wrist or ankle monitor that alerts authorities to a subject’s location at all times. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is under similar restrictions, but also largely confined to his parents’ California home.
Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2022, prior to Mashinsky’s departure. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission later filed civil cases against the platform and former CEO, with the Federal Trade Commission fining Celsius $4.7 billion for “duping” users.
Roni Cohen-Pavon, the former chief revenue officer of the lending platform and Israeli citizen, faces similar charges for his alleged involvement in activities at Celsius. However, at the time of Mashinsky’s arrest, he was not in U.S. custody.
Over $4 trillion worth of real estate could be tokenized on blockchain networks during the next decade, potentially offering investors greater access to property ownership opportunities, according to a new report.
The Deloitte Center for Financial Services predicts that over $4 trillion worth of real estate may be tokenized by 2035, up from less than $300 billion in 2024. The report, published April 24, estimates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 27%.
The $4 trillion of tokenized property is predicted to stem from the benefits of blockchain-based assets, as well as a structural shift across real estate and property ownership.
Global tokenized real estate value, growth predictions. Source: Deloitte
“Real estate itself is undergoing transformation. Post-pandemic work-from-home trends, climate risk, and digitization have reshaped property fundamentals,” according to Chris Yin, co-founder of Plume Network, a blockchain built for real-world assets (RWAs).
“Office buildings are being repurposed into AI data centers, logistics hubs and energy-efficient residential communities,” Yin told Cointelegraph.
“Investors want targeted access to these modern use cases, and tokenization enables programmable, customizable exposure to such evolving asset profiles,” he said.
The uncertainty triggered by US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs has boosted investor interest in the RWA tokenization sector, which involves minting financial products and tangible assets on a blockchain.
Both stablecoins and RWAs have attracted significant capital as safe-haven assets amid the global trade concerns, Juan Pellicer, senior research analyst at IntoTheBlock, told Cointelegraph.
Blockchain innovation could drive regulatory clarity
Growing RWA adoption may inspire a more welcoming stance from global regulators, Yin said.
“While regulation is a hurdle, regulation follows usage,” he explained, likening tokenization to Uber’s growth before widespread regulatory acceptance:
“Tokenization is similar — as demand increases, regulatory clarity will follow.”
He added that making tokenized products compliant with a wide range of international regulations is key to unlocking broader market access.
However, some industry watchers are skeptical about the benefits introduced by tokenized real estate.
The Truth Behind Tokenization and RWA panel. Source: Paris Blockchain Week
“I don’t think tokenization should have its eyes directly set on real estate,” said Securitize chief operating officer Michael Sonnenshein at Paris Blockchain Week 2025.
“I’m sure there are all kinds of efficiencies that can be unlocked using blockchain technology to eliminate middlemen, escrow, and all kinds of things in real estate. But I think today, what the onchain economy is demanding are more liquid assets,” he added.
United States Senator Cynthia Lummis suggests the crypto industry may be celebrating too soon over the US Federal Reserve softening its crypto guidance for banks.
“The Fed withdrawing crypto guidance is just noise, not real progress,” Lummis said in an April 25 X post. Lummis called the Fed’s April 24 announcement — withdrawing its 2022 supervisory letter that had discouraged banks from engaging with crypto and stablecoin activities — “just lip service.”
Lummis’ tone was different from the rest of the crypto industry
Lummis, a pro-crypto advocate known for introducing the Bitcoin (BTC) Strategic Reserve Bill in July 2024, pointed out several flaws in the Fed’s announcement, even as Strategy founder Michael Saylor and crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano suggested it was a step forward for banks and crypto.
She argued that the Fed continues to “illegally flout the law on master accounts” and still relies on reputational risk in its bank supervision practices. It comes as the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation (FDIC) is working on a rule to stop examiners from considering reputational risk when reviewing a bank’s operations, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
Lummis also highlighted the Fed’s policy statement in Section 9(13), which hasn’t been withdrawn, stating that Bitcoin and digital assets are considered “unsafe and unsound.”
She also reiterated many of the same staff behind Operation Chokepoint 2.0 are still involved in crypto policy today.
“We are NOT fooled. The Fed assassinated companies within the industry and hurt American interests by stifling innovation and shuttering businesses. This fight is far from over.”
“I will continue to hold the Fed accountable until the digital asset industry gets more than a life jacket, Chair Powell — they need a fair shake,” Lummis said.
However, many crypto executives praised the Fed’s announcement as a positive development for the industry. Saylor said in an April 25 X post that the Fed’s move means that “banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin.”
Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum, said the Fed’s decision “is a significant development, as it will simplify the path to institutional adoption.”
In one of his first appearances as the recently sworn-in chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins delivered remarks to the agency’s third roundtable discussion of crypto regulation.
In the “Know Your Custodian” roundtable event on April 25, Atkins said he expected “huge benefits” from blockchain technology through efficiency, risk mitigation, transparency, and cutting costs. He reiterated that among his goals at the SEC would be to facilitate “clear regulatory rules of the road” for digital assets, hinting that the agency under former chair Gary Gensler had contributed to market and regulatory uncertainty.
“I look forward to engaging with market participants and working with colleagues in President Trump’s administration and Congress to establish a rational fit-for-purpose framework for crypto assets,” said Atkins.
SEC chair Paul Atkins addressing the April 25 crypto roundtable. Source: SEC
Some critics of US President Donald Trump see Atkins’ nomination to lead the SEC as a nod to the crypto industry, acting on campaign promises to remove Gensler — the former chair resigned the day Trump took office — and cut back on regulation. Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee questioned Atkins on his ties to the industry, potentially presenting conflicts of interest in his role regulating crypto.
“We’ve noticed that we don’t have to be as concerned […] about being accused of things that we’re not doing, like being broker-dealers for securities,” Exodus chief legal officer Veronica McGregor, who participated in the roundtable, told Cointelegraph on April 24.”It’s just a less scary regulatory environment in general. It is, however, still unclear what the ultimate regs are going to look like for crypto.”
The SEC crypto task force is scheduled to hold two more roundtables in May and June to discuss tokenization and decentralized finance, respectively. Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the task force, told Cointelegraph in March that she welcomed the opportunity to work with Atkins to “reorient the agency,” hinting at an SEC with regulations more favorable to the crypto industry.
In addition to the roundtables, the crypto task force has reported several meetings with digital asset firms to discuss various policies and considerations in developing a regulatory framework.