Former Celsius Network executive Aaron Iovine has joined JP Morgan Chase & Co as the group’s new Director of Digital Assets regulatory policy.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Iovine confirmed his new role at JP Morgan, however, the company is yet to make an official announcement.
Just last month, JP Morgan sought to distance itself from the cryptocurrency space, with CEO, Jamie Dimon, publicly denounced cryptocurrencies as nothing more than a “ponzi scheme”, labelling them “dangerous”.
Nonetheless, the firm now appears to be more open to embracing digital currencies, advertising for digital currency roles and hiring Iovine, who joins from after his previous crypto exchange, Celsius, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last July.
According to reports, Iovine will work in a similar role to the one he was under at the crypto exchange platform, where he helped run policy and regulatory affairs until his resignation last month after eight months.
The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation found Celsius to have disclosed its financial losses from investors, declaring that the crypto firm’s activity during 2021 as “false and misleading” and in violation of certain state security laws.
A court filing against the Celsius Network during a United States Trustee’s motion read: “During the course of the multistate investigation, it has become clear that Celsius made false and misleading claims to investors about, inter alia, the company’s financial health and its compliance with securities law.
“This shows a high level of financial mismanagement and also suggests that, at least at some points in time, yields to existing investors were probably being paid with the assets of new investors.
The regulatory framework in the US for crypto is under a period of rapid evolution – after President Biden signed an executive order giving federal agencies permission to outline any regulatory changes they deem necessary.
The US President also urged haste in the implementation of new policies when it comes to the crypto sector as he emphasised that delays could lead to elevated risks for investors.
