Former Celsius Exec Hired By JPMorgan as Head of Crypto

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Jaroslaw Adamowski

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Jaroslaw Adamowski

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June 26, 2023 06:55 EDT

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Aaron Iovine, a former executive at bankrupt crypto lender Celsius (CEL), has found a new job, joining U.S. investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co as the company’s executive director of digital assets regulatory policy.

Iovine previously served as the head of policy and regulatory affairs at Celsius, which he left in September following an eight-month stint. A spokesperson for JPMorgan confirmed that he was hired, but declined to disclose additional details, Reuters reported. 

It is yet to be seen how Iovine will cooperate with his boss, Jamie Dimon, the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan, who recently told the U.S. Congress that cryptos were “decentralized Ponzi schemes”. With this statement, the executive confirmed his reputation of a crypto-skeptic willing to go to lengths to criticize the crypto industry. At the same time, Dimon said that he accepts the added value of blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi), “tokens that do something”, as well as regulated stablecoins. Among others, the executive Dimon told a lawmaker he is “a major skeptic on crypto tokens, which you call currency, like bitcoin”.

Meanwhile, as part of its bankruptcy proceedings, Celsius has so far paid out more than $3 million in legal fees to a number of law firms. The total figure paid by the troubled lender consists of $2.6m charged by law firm Kirkland and Ellis for work performed during the two weeks between July 13 and July 31, and a further $750,000 charged by law firm Akin Gump, as indicated by two recent documents filed with a court.

The collapsed lender continues to advance through its bankruptcy protection proceedings under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code.

The company first suspended withdrawals for customers last June after it went through massive capital outflows related to the turbulent market conditions at the time. One month later, Celsius filed for bankruptcy protection.

In another installment of the firm’s legal woes, earlier this month, it was revealed that court documents submitted as part of the lender’s case had been released for public access, releasing the personal data of thousands of the lender’s customers. 

The court filing allows any person to access more than 14,500 pages of information that covers the financial dealings of co-founders Alex Mashinsky, Dan Leon and Nuke Goldstein, as well as the names and wallets of those who had invested their funds with the bankrupt platform.