The Fintech Files: Royal Mint NFT is still in the works, JPMorgan hires from Celsius
When Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister last week, crypto firms were concerned that it could further undermine Britain’s plans to become a so-called “crypto hub”. That ambition was announced half a year ago. It feels like a lifetime.
“We spent more than three years educating the right Treasury MPs and now we’re back to square one,” Ian Taylor, head of crypto trading body CryptoUK, told Financial news after Truss announced her exit.
The only potential “silver lining”, Taylor added, was the possibility that Rishi Sunak, who announced the cryptohub scheme in the first place, would succeed her. Well, crypto fans got their wish.
Not just a symbolic gesture
While crypto may not be the pinnacle of Sunak’s burgeoning inroads, United Nations can confirm his plans to jump on the NFT bandwagon – a key part of the ‘crypto hub’ publicity blitz – have survived the chaotic summer we’ve all been living through from Westminster.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Royal Mint, the official maker of British coins, which is owned by the Treasury, said it was still working on creating a token.
The project, it said, “is still in the development stage” but has “not yet been launched”.
However, the plans are several months behind schedule, and the Treasury had initially promised that the project would be launched over the summer, and it will not reveal the costs.
Given that NFT sales plunged to $3.4 billion last quarter (down from $12.5 billion in the first three months of the year), Sunak better move on or there will be no one left to sell to.
The Ministry of Finance did not respond to requests for comment.
Headlines this week
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Three Arrows liquidators seek court permission to subpoena crypto hedge fund’s missing founders over Twitter
Binance’s US arm taps ex-FBI agent to lead investigative team
Comment: The scale of crypto disruption means regulation must keep up
Fidelity snaps up cut-price crypto talent amid industry downturn
“You employee WHO from where?’
JPMorgan has hired Aaron Iovine, a former lobbyist at Celsius Network, as its new head of crypto policy. Yep, that Celsius network.
Iovine is joining the bank as managing director of digital asset regulatory policy, a JPMorgan spokeswoman said on Oct. 19.
He served as head of policy at Celsius between February and September this year – the period during which the lender froze customers’ assets, filed for bankruptcy protection and became embroiled in a court battle over creditor claims.
Of course, Iovine’s position at Celsius was not a C-suite one. He was not around the table making decisions about how to run the company, said a source with knowledge of the situation United Nations. But it’s a bold move for JPMorgan, whose CEO Jamie Dimon recently called cryptocurrency tokens like bitcoin “decentralized Ponzi schemes.”
Prior to Celsius, he worked for more than two years at Cross River Bank, a small New Jersey-based community bank that caters to fintech companies. Iovine was the head of policy and regulatory affairs when he left the bank.
On his LinkedIn profile, Iovine said he has “focused on developing policies that promote responsible innovation while emphasizing consumer protection and regulatory oversight,” and has worked on issues related to crypto licensing, anti-money laundering requirements and cybersecurity standards.
Our favorite stories from around the web
Last week, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried published his definitive version of what he thinks the crypto regulations should look like. But after angry backlash from crypto bros on Twitter, he now plans to edit them again, reports Blockwork.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has cracked down hard on crypto this year – to great outcry from the industry itself. For external investors, however, it has made it more attractive, reports Bloomberg.
As a developed nation, you know your currency is in a tight spot when investors start hedging with bitcoin. That’s exactly what happened when former Prime Minister Liz Truss unleashed her short-term fiscal plan in September, reports Reuters.
And finally…
Binance is getting closer to finding out who orchestrated a hack on its BNB blockchain, CEO Changpeng Zhao told CNBC on October 24.
The company intervened to limit the damage, pausing activity, meaning around $100 million was actually stolen.
“At this moment the police gave us some tips about who they think it might be. So we are actually limiting ourselves, he said.
However, the massive security breach hasn’t stopped Binance’s security chief from lashing out at critics.
In response to a LinkedIn post criticizing Binance’s security record, Tigran Gambaryan said “no other exchange is doing more” to address crypto hacks.
Gambaryan, a former Internal Revenue Service agent, clearly read the memo—but not the room.
To contact the author of this story with feedback or news, email Alex Daniel
