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.
Related: Everything that’s happened with Celsius and Alex Mashinsky so far
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.
Magazine: Tiffany Fong flames Celsius, FTX and NY Post: Hall of Flame
Nearly 400,000 creditors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX risk missing out on $2.5 billion in repayments after failing to begin the mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process. Roughly 392,000 FTX creditors have failed to complete or at least take the first steps of the mandatory Know Your Customer verification, according to an April 2 court filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. FTX users originally had until March 3 to begin the verification process to collect their claims. “If a holder of a claim listed on Schedule 1 attached thereto did not commence the KYC submission process with respect to such claim on or prior to March 3, 2025, at 4:00 pm (ET) (the “KYC Commencing Deadline”), 2 such claim shall be disallowed and expunged in its entirety,” the filing states. FTX court filing. Source: Bloomberglaw.com The KYC deadline has been extended to June 1, 2025, giving users another chance to verify their identity and claim eligibility. Those who fail to meet the new deadline may have their claims permanently disqualified. According to the court documents, claims under $50,000 could account for roughly $655 million in disallowed repayments, while claims over $50,000 could amount to $1.9 billion — bringing the total at-risk funds to more than $2.5 billion. FTX court filing, estimated claims. Source: Sunil The next round of FTX creditor repayments is set for May 30, 2025, with over $11 billion expected to be repaid to creditors with claims of over $50,000. Under FTX’s recovery plan, 98% of creditors are expected to receive at least 118% of their original claim value in cash. Related: FTX liquidated $1.5B in 3AC assets 2 weeks before hedge fund’s collapse Many FTX users have reported problems with the KYC process. However, users who were unable to submit their KYC documentation can resubmit their application and restart the verification process, according to an April 5 X post from Sunil, FTX creditor and Customer Ad-Hoc Committee member. FTX KYC portal. Source: Sunil Impacted users should email FTX support (support@ftx.com) to receive a ticket number, then log in to the support portal, create an account, and re-upload the necessary KYC documents. Related: Crypto trader turns $2K PEPE into $43M, sells for $10M profit FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, processed the first round of repayments in February, distributing $1.2 billion to creditors. The crypto industry is still recovering from the collapse of FTX and more than 130 subsidiaries launched a series of insolvencies that led to the industry’s longest-ever crypto winter, which saw Bitcoin’s (BTC) price bottom out at around $16,000. While not a “market-moving catalyst” in itself, the beginning of the FTX repayments is a positive sign for the maturation of the crypto industry, which may see a “significant portion” reinvested into cryptocurrencies, Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, told Cointelegraph. Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set
Sir Keir Starmer has said his government stands ready to use industrial policy to “shelter British business from the storm” after Donald Trump’s new 10% tariff kicked in. The UK was among a number of countries hit with the lowest import duty rate following the president’s announcement on 2 April – which he called ‘Liberation Day’, while other nations, such as Vietnam, Cambodia and China face much higher US levies. But a global trade war will hurt the UK’s open economy. The prime minister said “these new times demand a new mentality”, after the 10% tax on British imports into America came into force on Saturday. A 25% US levy on all foreign car imports was introduced on Thursday. It comes as Jaguar Land Rover announced it would “pause” shipments to the US for a month, as firms grapple with the new taxes. On Saturday, the car manufacturer said it was working to “address the new trading terms” and was looking to “develop our mid to longer-term plans”. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Jobs fears as Jaguar halts shipments Referring to the tariffs, Sir Keir said “the immediate priority is to keep calm and fight for the best deal”. Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, he said that in the coming days “we will turbocharge plans that will improve our domestic competitiveness”, adding: “We stand ready to use industrial policy to help shelter British business from the storm.” It is believed a number of announcements could be made soon as ministers look to encourage growth. NI contribution rate for employers goes up From Sunday, the rate of employer NICs (national insurance contributions) increased from 13.8% to 15%. At the same time, firms will also pay more because the government lowered the salary threshold at which companies start paying NICs from £9,100 to £5,000. Also, the FTSE 100 of leading UK companies had its worst day of trading since the start of the pandemic on Friday, with banks among some of the firms to suffer the sharpest losses. Sir Keir said: “This week, the government will do everything necessary to protect Britain’s national interest. Because when global economic sands are shifting, our laser focus on delivering for Britain will not. And these new times demand a new mentality.” Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Trump defiant despite markets UK spared highest tariff rates Some of the highest rates have been applied to “worst offender” countries including some in Southeast Asia. Imports from Cambodia will be subject to a 49% tariff, while those from Vietnam will face a 46% rate. Chinese goods will be hit with a 34% tariff. Imports from France will have a 20% tariff, the rate which has been set for European Union nations. These will come into effect on 9 April. Read more: Sir Keir has been speaking to foreign leaders on the phone over the weekend, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to discuss the tariff changes. A Downing Street spokesperson said of the conversation between Sir Keir and Mr Macron: “They agreed that a trade war was in nobody’s interests but nothing should be off the table and that it was important to keep business updated on developments. “The prime minister and president also shared their concerns about the global economic and security impact, particularly in Southeast Asia.” 👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈 Trump’s warning Mr Trump has warned Americans the tariffs “won’t be easy”, but urged them to “hang tough”. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said: “We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. “Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! “THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.” Crypto-friendly billionaire investor Bill Ackman is considering the possibility that US President Donald Trump may pause the implementation of his controversial proposed tariffs on April 7. “One would have to imagine that President Donald Trump’s phone has been ringing off the hook. The practical reality is that there is insufficient time for him to make deals before the tariffs are scheduled to take effect,” Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said in an April 5 X post. “I would, therefore, not be surprised to wake up Monday with an announcement from the President that he was postponing the implementation of the tariffs to give him time to make deals,” Ackman added. On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries, which took effect on April 5. Harsher reciprocal tariffs on trading partners with which the US has the largest trade deficits are scheduled to kick in on April 9. Ackman — who famously said “crypto is here to stay” after the FTX collapse in November 2022 — said Trump captured the attention of the world and US trading partners, backing the tariffs as necessary after what he called an “unfair tariff regime” that hurt US workers and economy “over many decades.” Following Trump’s announcement on April 2, the US stock market shed more value during the April 4 trading session than the entire crypto market is currently worth. The fact that crypto held up better than the US stock market caught the attention of both crypto industry supporters and skeptics. Source: Cameron Winklevoss Prominent crypto voices such as BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes and Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss also recently showed their support for Trump’s tariffs. Related: Trump tariffs squeeze already struggling Bitcoin miners — Braiins exec Ackman said a pause would be a logical move by Trump — not just to allow time for closing potential deals but also to give companies of all sizes “time to prepare for changes.” He added: “The risk of not doing so is that the massive increase in uncertainty drives the economy into a recession, potentially a severe one.” Ackman said April 7 will be “one of the more interesting days” in US economic history. Magazine: New ‘MemeStrategy’ Bitcoin firm by 9GAG, jailed CEO’s $3.5M bonus: Asia Express
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How FTX users can complete KYC
Red wall on Wall Street – but Trump undeterred
How will UK respond to Trump’s tariffs?
Trump may postpone tariffs to make more deals, says Ackman
