earn

Paxful to return lost Celsius funds to Earn users

Peer-to-peer marketplace Paxful will refund its Earn program users impacted by Celsius Network’s bankruptcy.

Crypto marketplace Paxful will refund its Earn program users affected by the Celsius Network collapse in 2022, according to a Twitter thread posted on March 29 by company CEO Ray Youssef.

“I’ve personally taken action and will be refunding all affected Paxful users,” wrote Youssef, explaining that funds will be available for affected users in the platform’s wallet in the coming days.

Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States on July 14, leaving thousands of depositors with their assets locked up on the crypto lending platform. At that time, neither the company nor CEO Alex Mashinsky commented publicly about whether depositors could expect any percentage of their funds. According to the bankruptcy filing, user deposits comprised most of Celsius’ liabilities, at $4.72 billion.

As of now, Paxful has not disclosed how much it is returning to customers. Cointelegraph reached out to Paxful, but did not receive an immediate response. 

During a bankruptcy hearing on Jan. 4, Judge Martin Glenn ruled that Celsius owns the funds in the interest-bearing Earn program under its terms of use, not its depositors. Youssef commented on the decision:

“The collapse [of Celsius] hurt countless users and damaged trust in our industry. Paxful, like many others, were paralyzed to act as we could not retrieve funds held by Celsius. Another hit came when the courts ruled that Celsius Earn Account belonged to Celsius’ bankruptcy estate, not to its users. This didn’t sit right with me then, and it still doesn’t sit right with me today.”

Bankruptcy proceedings for Celsius are still ongoing. Recently, a settlement plan between the committee of unsecured creditors and a group of account holders was approved, allowing account holders to recover 72.5% of their crypto holdings. The defunct platform announced in February that NovaWulf Digital Management would act as a sponsor for its restructuring plan, claiming that over 85% of Celsius customers would be able to recover roughly 70% of their crypto assets.

Top 7 ways to earn free crypto

Learn how to earn free cryptocurrency with these seven methods, including faucets, bug bounties and more.

Due to the popularity of cryptocurrency, numerous individuals are searching for means to acquire free crypto. Here are seven methods one can use to earn cryptocurrency without having to invest your own money, including crypto faucets, airdrops, staking, bug bounties and more. 

There are several common risks to be aware of when earning free crypto, including security risks, scams and fraud, limited earning potential, time-consuming activities, and potential legal or tax implications. It’s important to do your research and approach these methods with caution.

Faucets

Crypto faucets are websites or applications that provide users with small sums of cryptocurrency in exchange for doing things like completing CAPTCHA puzzles or watching advertisements. One example is Moon Litecoin, which offers free Litecoin (LTC) to users who complete tasks, such as streaming videos. The rewards from Moon Litecoin are deposited into users’ micro wallet on Coinpot.co.

Unfortunately, there are many scam crypto faucets that promise high rewards but never actually pay out. Some may require you to pay a fee or complete a certain number of tasks before you can withdraw your earnings, while others may simply disappear without warning. Therefore, it is important to approach crypto faucets with caution and do your research before using them.

Airdrops

Airdrops are free distributions of cryptocurrency tokens or coins. Businesses and projects give away a set number of tokens to people who register for their platform, carry out particular actions or satisfy certain requirements. 

Staking

Staking involves holding a certain number of cryptocurrency tokens in a wallet or exchange to help secure the network and earn rewards. One can stake cryptocurrencies such as Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT) and Ether (ETH) to earn staking rewards.

However, staking involves locking up one’s funds for a set period of time, during which they may not be able to access or trade them. Therefore, make sure you understand the risks and potential rewards before you start staking.

Related: DeFi staking: A beginner’s guide to proof-of-stake (PoS) coins

Referral programs

For consumers who suggest friends and family join their platform, many cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets provide referral programs that pay rewards. Free cryptocurrency or a part of the user’s trading commissions might be given as rewards.

Completing surveys

Some websites and apps offer users the opportunity to earn cryptocurrency rewards by completing surveys or participating in market research. Websites like Swagbucks offer crypto rewards for completing tasks, such as watching videos, answering surveys and playing games. However, one must exercise caution while engaging in any activity on such websites.

Related: 7 ways women can earn passive income through cryptocurrency

Bug bounties

Cryptocurrency projects and exchanges often offer bug bounties to incentivize developers and security researchers to identify and report vulnerabilities in their software. These bounties can be in the form of cryptocurrency rewards and can range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the severity of the bug. 

Trading competitions

Depending on their trading volume or performance, customers can compete against one another to win prizes on several exchanges that provide trading competitions. Even though there can be fierce competition, there can also be significant benefits, with some exchanges providing thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency prizes.

Celsius Custody customers finally begin withdrawals 263 days after freeze

Celsius users with funds held in its custody program have finally begun to withdraw funds, but users report delays due to a backlog of requests.

Some Celsius customers have reported being able to withdraw funds from the bankrupt crypto firm for the first time, some 263 days after the lender froze withdrawals in the lead-up to its bankruptcy filing.

According to numerous social media posts, as of March 2, certain customers who held funds in Celsius’ Custody accounts have been overjoyed that they were finally able to withdraw their funds from the lender.

Customers report they received an email a few weeks ago listing those who were eligible to remove their funds, before receiving another on March 2 noting withdrawals could be processed.

An email sent from Celsius to eligible customers on March 2. Source: Twitter

While some users who whitelisted wallets ahead of their withdrawal attempt received their funds within minutes, others pointed to large delays.

Celsius customers discussing withdrawal processing times on Reddit. Source: Reddit

A backlog of withdrawal attempts seems to have built up, however, with some claiming that withdrawal requests are being converted into support tickets that could take some days to process as a result of “too many requests and not enough staff.”

A Reddit user claimed they were told their request could take days to process. Source: Reddit

On Jan. 31, Celsius published details on who was eligible to withdraw, with customers who had only ever held funds in custody accounts able to currently withdraw 94% of their original funds.

The custody accounts were only available to United States residents. The withdrawals are restricted to these customers, much to the disappointment of customers with funds in other accounts offered by Celsius.

Related: Wrapped Bitcoin supply drops to negative after 11,500 wBTC burn linked to Celsius

Custody account holders may yet be able to get back the other 6%, pending future court hearings.

Customers who had transferred funds from the earn or borrow programs to a custody account are apparently able to withdraw 72.5% of their funds at this point in time, up to a maximum of $7,575.

The lender had first announced they would be freezing withdrawals on June 13, citing “extreme market conditions,” before filing for bankruptcy on July 13.

Nexo shutters US Earn product a month after settling with regulators

The shutdown of Nexo’s earn product follows from a multi-million dollar settlement the firm paid last month with United States regulators.

Cryptocurrency lending firm Nexo Capital is set to terminate its yield-bearing Earn Interest roduct for its customers in the United States roughly a month after it agreed to pay $45 million in penalties to U.S. regulators.

Nexo announced the termination in a Feb. 10 blog post saying the product would be stopped on April 1. The program allowed users to earn daily compounding yields on certain cryptocurrencies by loaning them to Nexo.

Nexo pointed to its Jan. 19 settlements with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the North American Securities Administrators Association as the reason for the halt on offering Earn.

The SEC, NASAA and at least 17 state securities regulators investigated Nexo for failing to register the offer and sale of its Earn product.

Nexo paid a $22.5 million penalty and agreed with the SEC to cease offers of its Earn product to U.S. investors, an additional $22.5 million in fines were paid to settle charges by state regulators.

Nexo did not admit or deny the findings by the SEC but agreed to a cease-and-desist order prohibiting it from violating securities law provisions.

Related: US financial regulators warn against crypto exposure in retirement accounts

According to Nexo’s announcement, Earn users will continue to receive interest payments until April 1. Those subscribed to a fixed-term product will have it unlocked on the termination date, with Nexo urging users to “begin planning the withdrawal of your funds.”

Other Nexo services and products will not be affected, according to the firm.

Digital Currency Group halts dividends in an effort to preserve liquidity

Digital Currency Group, a venture capital firm that owns a stake in more than 200 crypto projects, announced the dividend halt while one of its subsidiaries is in financial strife.

Venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) has told shareholders it is halting its quarterly dividend payments until further notice as it attempts to preserve liquidity.

According to the letter sent to shareholders on Jan. 17, the firm is focused on “strengthening our balance sheet by reducing operating expenses and preserving liquidity.” DCG said it was also considering selling some of the assets within its portfolio.

Its financial issues are derived from the woes of a subsidiary, crypto broker Genesis Global Trading, which reportedly owes creditors more than $3 billion. 

Customers are currently unable to withdraw funds from Genesis after it halted withdrawals on Nov. 16, which has prompted Cameron Winklevoss — on behalf of his exchange Gemini and its users with funds on Genesis — to call for the board of DCG to remove Barry Silbert as CEO of the firm in a Jan. 10 open letter.

According to Winklevoss, Genesis owes Gemini $900 million for funds that were lent to Genesis as part of Gemini’s Earn program, which offers customers the ability to earn an annual yield of up to 7.4%. Winklevoss also claimed DCG owed $1.675 billion to Genesis, although Silbert denied this.

Soon after Winklevoss’s letter, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) poured fuel on the fire, charging both firms on Jan. 12 with offering unregistered securities through the Earn program.

Related: Crypto Biz: DCG’s ‘carefully crafted campaign of lies’?

Genesis’ problems first became apparent after the Nov. 16 withdrawal halt, which it blamed on “unprecedented market turmoil” following the collapse of FTX, causing “abnormal” levels of withdrawals.

On Nov. 10, less than a week earlier, Genesis revealed it had around $175 million stuck on FTX, which resulted in DCG sending Genesis an emergency equity infusion of $140 million in an attempt to resolve its liquidity issues.

DCG also owns Grayscale Investments and its series of digital asset trusts and has invested in over 200 companies within the crypto industry, including recognizable names such as blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, stablecoin issuer Circle and digital asset exchange Kraken.

Cointelegraph contacted DCG for comment but did not receive a response.

Frozen bank account triggers switch to Bitcoin salary for a whole year

How a frozen bank account led one Bitcoin advocate to experiment with living on the Bitcoin Standard.

As Bitcoin (BTC) adoption continues to sow seeds around the world, more and more people are choosing to accept the original cryptocurrency as payment for their goods and services. For individuals, that means accepting BTC as their salary.

A Florida-based Bitcoin advocate called SVN (not his real name) took his entire salary in BTC for the past year. Cointelegraph reached out to SVN, who works in the animation industry, to understand why he did it and if there are certain advantages to earning the world’s most recognizable cryptocurrency.

SVN explained that when the bank froze one of his accounts, he turned “to Bitcoin as a solution to keep my life going while the issue got resolved.”

While banks have the power to unbank customers at will or must follow governmental instruction, such as during the Canadian trucker protest in which governmental orders prevented crowdfunding for the protestors–Bitcoin runs 24/7, 365 days a year, without an intermediary. 

But for SVN, he also wanted to explore whether it was possible to live on Bitcoin and crypto and form his own conclusion about its potential as the best form of money. Could Bitcoin really be the future of money? SVN explained:

“Everyone kept saying that it’s the best form of money in the world, but all I knew were hodlers. Had to see for myself and come to my own conclusion.”

Plus, he wanted to “break the stigma and mystery bubbles around this entirely new economy and put a bit of perspective on what things are and what they aren’t.” In essence, by managing his income in Bitcoin as opposed to fiat (government-issued money) income, SVN fell further down the Bitcoin rabbit hole.

He documented the experience in a Twitter thread in which he concluded, “Living on Bitcoin is simple, but challenging.” For example, he mentions that accounting is a nightmare and that tax reporting has become demanding. Furthermore, the experiment has been made more interesting due to Bitcoin’s volatility. The price in fiat terms has dropped over 70% in the last year, meaning his Bitcoin savings have increased as each paycheck came in.

SVN also began writing a newsletter and documented the experience. For example, by using Bitcoin as the primary form of payment, SVN was able to see firsthand how it can be used in everyday transactions. He hopes others seeking to opt out of fiat and opt into Bitcoin will learn from his experience.

Related: NFL star’s massive tax bill highlights problems with BTC salaries

When questioned whether he would accept other cryptocurrencies as well as Bitcoin, SVN responded that his decision-making was driven by concerns about security and sovereignty. The crypto of choice must be robust and resistant to tampering or changes, with a known and active founder and an active CEO or pressure point. In the end, SVN stuck with Bitcoin because it met these criteria and offered simplicity.

Apart from SVN, there is a growing list of high-profile figures who accept their salary, or a portion of their salaries in Bitcoin, such as Belgian members of parliament and NFL stars.

Celsius amasses 30 potential bidders for its assets, withdrawal motion approved

The bankrupt lender is set to hold auctions for its assets in January, while it’s been given the green light to return some customer funds.

Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network has attracted 30 potential bidders for its various assets, including its retail platform and mining business.

According to a company presentation filed on Dec. 20, more than 125 parties have been contacted since September, with 30 potential bidders executing non-disclosure agreements — a legal contract used to protect sensitive information about a company or the bidding terms that is typically required during negotiations.

Celsius said that so far, it has received multiple bids proposing a variety of potential transactions and business structures to acquire its assets — such as migrating Celsius customers to the acquirer’s platform along with a haircut of their assets .

The lending platform also revealed it had received a number of single asset bids.

With the bidding deadline reached on Dec. 12, the auction for Celsius’ various assets is now set for Jan. 10, after being pushed back from the original date of Dec. 15, according to earlier documents filed by Celsius.

Amended dates for bidding procedures as per Celsius court filings on Dec. 15. Source: Stretto

The latest presentation notes that as of Nov. 25, the company held crypto valued at approximately $2.6 billion, but even after this is combined with all of its non-crypto assets, Celsius is still $1.2 billion short of being able to pay off all debts.

Its ongoing mining operations have been successful, however, with Celsius claiming that it has generated positive operating cash flow every month this year as it continues to deploy more mining rigs.

Related: BlockFi files motion to return frozen crypto to wallet users

In related news, on Dec. 20 bankruptcy judge Martin Glenn granted a motion filed by Celsius on Sept. 1, allowing them to reopen withdrawals for a minority of their customers.

The assets eligible to be withdrawn are those that were only ever held in the Custody Program; for amounts less than $7,575; and for funds that were transferred from Earn or Borrow Programs into the Custody program within 90 days of Celsius filing for bankruptcy on July 13.

The order also applies to “ineligible Withhold Assets,” with assets included in this definition to be determined following meetings between Celsius, the Withhold Ad Hoc Group and the Celsius Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.

Bankman-Fried on the hook in Texas, called to appear at Feb. hearing

The Texas Securities Board has asked the judge to consider leveling a cease-and-desist order, administrative fines and forced refunds against SBF and FTX.US.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been called to a Feb. 2 hearing by the Texan securities regulator as part of an investigation into whether he and FTX.US have violated Texas securities laws. 

In a Notice of Hearing signed off by Texas State Securities Board’s (SSB’s) director of enforcement Joe Rotunda and served to Bankman Fried on Nov. 29, the regulator alleges that FTX US offered unregistered securities to Texans through its “EARN” accounts.

The investigation was first announced on Oct. 14, before the dramatic collapse and bankruptcy of FTX’s global operations. The regulator announced at the time it was investigating FTX Trading and FTX.US and its principals including Sam Bankman-Fried for offering unregistered securities through its yield-bearing products.

On Nov. 18, Rotunda used Twitter to appeal to the public to reach out to him if they were a previous client of FTX and based in Texas.

In the latest notice, the SSB alleged that Sam Bankman-Fried violated a section of the Securities Act during his role as the then-CEO of FTX.

“Respondent [Sam Bankman-Fried] violated Section 4003.001 of the Securities Act by offering and selling securities in Texas that were not registered or permitted for sale in Texas,” said Rotunda, adding it also didn’t register as a dealer or agent in Texas.

The regulator said it hoped that the hearing will lead to a Cease and Desist order to prevent FTX from “engaging in fraud in connection with the offer or sale of securities in Texas.”

It was also “praying” for the judge to order Bankman-Fried to return money to Texan customers that had invested in its “unregistered EARN accounts.”

The regulator also wants consideration of an “administrative fine” to be issued to Bankman-Fried should he have gained any economic benefit from the securities law violations. This amount wouldn’t exceed $20,000 per violation but could go to $250,000 for every “illegal or fraudulent act” that was perpetrated against Texans over the age of 65.

Rotunda said the hearing will commence at 9:00 am local time on Feb. 2, 2023, and Bankman-Fried can attend the hearing using Zoom.

Related: ‘I never opened the code for FTX’: SBF has long, candid talk with vlogger

Bankman-Fried is understood to currently be in the Bahamas.

In a recently published interview between crypto blogger Tiffany Fong and Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO expressed remorse over his handling of FTX and the bankruptcy filing.

“You don’t get into the situation we got in if you, like, make all the right decisions,” he said in the recently released Nov. 16 interview.

Celsius had ‘insufficient’ accounting and operational controls, says examiner

The examiner revealed that Celsius’ digital assets in its customer’s Custody wallet account officially became underfunded on Jun. 11.

The independent examiner in crypto lender Celsius’ bankruptcy case has alleged that the company failed to set up “sufficient” accounting and operational controls in its handling of customer funds. 

In an interim report released on Nov. 19, examiner Shoba Pillay made a number of stark observations in her court-appointed investigation into the bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform.

One of the main revelations in Pillay’s report was that Celsius’ Custody program was launched “without sufficient accounting and operational controls or technical infrastructure,” which allowed shortfalls in Custody wallets to be funded from its other holdings:

“[…] no effort was made to segregate or separately identify any assets associated with the Withhold accounts, which were commingled in the Main wallets.”

When it was launched on April 15, Celsius’ Custody program allowed users to transfer, swap and use coins as loan collateral. It was introduced after the firm was ordered by the New Jersey security regulators to create a product that was distinguished from Celsius’ Earn product, which receives rewards.

This co-mingling of wallets means that there is now uncertainty on which assets belonged to the customer at the time of the bankruptcy filing, said Pillay, noting: 

“As a result, customers now face uncertainty regarding which assets, if any, belonged to them as of the bankruptcy filing.”

The interim report has also shed light on what ultimately forced the lending platform to halt withdrawals on June 12. 

Pillay said the breaking point came around on June 11, when customers’ Custody wallets became underfunded. By Jun. 24, this fell a further 24% to $50.5 million in underfunding.

Celsius’ Surplus and Deficit of Digital Assets in Custody Wallets. Source: U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The revelation comes as a filing with the New York-based bankruptcy court last week states that Celsius customers must file claims against Celsius by Jan. 3, 2023, in order to be eligible for distributions from the case.

However, customers who agree with Celsius’ scheduling of their claims do not need to submit proof of claim, according to a Nov. 20 Twitter post from Celsius.

Related: Celsius bankruptcy proceedings show complexities amid declining hope of recovery

Pillay said that Celsius’ Custody and Withdrawal programs were created on short notice following “intense regulatory pressure” from New Jersey’s Bureau of Securities, who started an investigation into whether Celsius’ “Earn” accounts constituted securities pursuant to United States securities laws in mid-2021.

Other accounting insufficiencies highlighted in the report include a revelation that Celsius, founded in 2017 by Alex Mashinsky and Daniel Leon, didn’t start tracking its balance sheet until after this confrontation with regulators in May. 2021, which it then used Google Sheets.

The collapse of the Terra ecosystem was one of the main factors that led to Celsius’ financial troubles in May. 2022, which saw its native coin, Luna Classic (LUNC), formerly LUNA, and the network’s algorithmic stablecoin Terra Classic USD, (USTC) — previously TerraUSD (UST) — fall north of 98% in value.

Celsius also stated on Nov. 20 that its next court date is scheduled for Dec. 5, where they plan on advancing discussions around its Custody and Withhold accounts, among other matters.