Celsius Network Pivots to Bitcoin Mining After Bankruptcy

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Daily News:

Brazilian Bank Nubank Adds Five More Altcoins

Celsius Network Pivots to Bitcoin Mining After Bankruptcy

Changpeng Zhao (CZ) Names Richard Teng as New Binance CEO

Brazilian Bank Nubank Adds Five More Altcoins:

• Nubank, a Brazilian neobank, has expanded its cryptocurrency offerings by adding trading capabilities for Polkadot (DOT), Avalanche (AVAX), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Arbitrum (ARB), and Optimism (OP) in its banking app, following the introduction of Bitcoin and Ethereum trading in May 2022.

• The company, backed by prominent investors like Warren Buffet, has actively embraced cryptocurrencies, previously announcing the allocation of 1% of its funds to Bitcoin and launching its own cryptoasset, Nucoin, along with a specialized division, Nubank Cripto.

• Alongside participating in Brazil's central bank digital real CBDC pilot project, Nubank aims to boost interest in its new altcoin offerings with promotional commission rates and has joined other major domestic financial institutions like Itaú in developing crypto services.

Celsius Network Pivots to Bitcoin Mining After Bankruptcy:

• Crypto lender Celsius Network, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, has revised its post-bankruptcy business strategy to solely focus on bitcoin mining, abandoning plans for "staking" fees and managing crypto loans, following feedback from the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

• The SEC, which did not explicitly rule on the legality of Celsius' proposed business activities during the bankruptcy case, has maintained that most crypto lending and staking should be regulated for customer transparency.

• As a result of this strategic shift, Celsius will retain and liquidate certain assets rather than transferring them to the new company, and is negotiating modifications to its bankruptcy plan with the Fahrenheit consortium, aiming to enhance the amount of cryptocurrency returned directly to customers starting in January 2024.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ) Names Richard Teng as New Binance CEO:

• Changpeng Zhao has resigned as CEO of Binance following a plea deal with the Department of Justice, which bars him from a role at the company for three years and includes his admission of mistakes and responsibility for violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

• Richard Teng, previously Binance’s head of regional markets and with experience in regulatory roles, will take over as CEO, focusing on investor reassurance and collaboration with regulators to promote Web3 growth.

• Zhao, agreeing to a $50 million fine as part of the settlement, plans to take a break and then engage in passive investing in blockchain, Web3, DeFi, AI, and biotech startups, while the SEC, not part of the settlement, has separately accused Binance of fund commingling.

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