Former Celsius Exec Hired By JPMorgan as Head of Crypto
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 is made up of close to $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
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