Bankruptcy

New York Attorney General Letitia James has secured a settlement of up to $35 million from former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, alongside a permanent ban from the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries. The action follows claims that Mashinsky misled investors about the safety of Celsius deposits before the lender froze withdrawals and entered bankruptcy in 2022.

The Clarity Act is being framed by digital asset advocates as a major step toward stronger consumer safeguards in U.S. crypto markets. Its proposed rules would cover registration, custody, disclosures, conflicts of interest, fraud prevention and the treatment of customer assets if a platform fails.

Citadel has withdrawn its U.S. trade secrets lawsuit against crypto market maker Portofino Technologies after concluding that another judgment may be difficult to collect. The firm is now pursuing a bankruptcy order in England against Portofino co-founder Leonard Lancia over an unpaid London arbitration award.