A US federal judge has sentenced the former chief revenue officer of defunct cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius to time served after almost three years following his arrest on fraud and conspiracy charges.

In a sentencing hearing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, Judge John Koeltl ordered that Roni Cohen-Pavon be sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release for his role in manipulating the price of Celsius’s CEL token and fraud on the platform.

The former chief revenue officer initially pleaded not guilty to four charges following his arrest in September 2023, changing his plea to guilty about a week later.

Alex Mashinsky at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami. Source: Cointelegraph

Cohen-Pavon was indicted along with former CEO Alex Mashinsky in July 2023 after the 2022 collapse of Celsius, which led to billions of dollars’ worth of investor and user losses.

Cohen-Pavon, an Israeli citizen and resident, was outside the US when prosecutors filed the indictment, but later reentered the country for his arraignment. He posted a $500,000 bond in September 2023 and has been free to travel with some restrictions.

With the sentencing of Cohen-Pavon and Mashinsky, who is already serving 12 years following his guilty plea, the criminal cases involving Celsius are winding down. The former CEO was ordered to pay $48 million as part of a forfeiture in his criminal case, while Cohen-Pavon agreed to pay more than $1 million and a $40,000 fine.

Related: Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky settles FTC case with $10M payment

“Whatever sentence the Court imposes, the deeper obligation will remain the same,” said Cohen-Pavon in a letter to Koeltl before his sentencing. “I will have to spend the rest of my life becoming, through my conduct, the husband, father, and man my family had every right to expect from me all along.”

The sentencing memorandum for Roni Cohen-Pavon. Source: Court Listener

Tornado Cash co-founder still potentially looking at SDNY retrial

Roman Storm, the co-founder of crypto mixing service Tornado Cash, still faces a possible retrial on two charges in the Southern District of New York after a jury failed to reach a verdict in his trial last year.

Prosecutors requested that a judge schedule the proceedings in October to retry Storm on money laundering and sanctions violation conspiracy charges, for which the jury deadlocked.

The terms of Storm’s $2 million bail restrict the Tornado Cash co-founder to certain areas of New York, Washington and California. However, on Thursday, a federal judge granted him permission to “attend his niece’s high school graduation” in El Dorado Hills, California.

Magazine: eToro founder timed Bitcoin top perfectly due to belief in 4 year cycles

TLDR

• World Liberty co-founder Zak Folkman said the $75 million Dolomite loan was small compared to posted collateral.
• Folkman stated that the borrowing aimed to increase utilization and liquidity on Dolomite Markets.
• Onchain data showed that more than $40 million of the borrowed funds moved to Coinbase Prime.
• DeFi analysts raised concerns in April about concentration and liquidation risks tied to the WLFI position.
• Justin Sun filed a lawsuit alleging that World Liberty froze his tokens and restricted governance access.

World Liberty co-founder Zak Folkman addressed a $75 million Dolomite borrowing position and a lawsuit from Justin Sun at Consensus 2026. He said the loan represented a small share of posted collateral and aimed to increase protocol usage. He also confirmed that World Liberty hired Quinn Emanuel and rejected Sun’s claims as false.

World Liberty Explains WLFI and USD1 Loan Activity on Dolomite

Folkman said World Liberty acted as the largest liquidity supplier on Dolomite Markets before taking a limited loan. He stated that the team posted about 5 billion WLFI tokens as collateral and borrowed roughly $75 million in USD1 and USDC. He described the move as “a very, very small loan” compared with the collateral size, and he said the goal focused on raising utilization rates.

He added that the strategy helped expand liquidity across the protocol over time. Onchain data from Arkham showed that the wallet later transferred over $40 million to Coinbase Prime. However, DeFi analysts on X raised concerns in April and warned about concentration and liquidation risks tied to the WLFI-backed position.

Folkman said the borrowing strategy followed internal planning and transparent smart contract rules. He stressed that all contract functions remain visible on Etherscan and other public explorers. He maintained that the position size did not threaten lenders based on posted collateral levels.

He also said the team monitored utilization and liquidity metrics during the borrowing period. He stated that World Liberty reduced its position as liquidity expanded. He reiterated that the company aimed to support growth within Dolomite rather than extract value.

World Liberty Rejects Justin Sun Claims and Files Defamation Case

Folkman also addressed a lawsuit filed by Tron founder Justin Sun in a California federal court on April 22. Sun alleged that World Liberty froze his tokens and excluded him from governance. He also claimed that the WLFI contract contained undisclosed blacklist features and threatened permanent token burns.

Folkman said World Liberty felt “blindsided” by the filing and denied all allegations. He said the project retained Quinn Emanuel to pursue a defamation case against Sun. He described the matter as “cut and dry” and called Sun’s statements “blatantly false.”

He said the 20% unlock terms appeared clearly in the project’s terms and conditions. He also stated that smart contract features remained publicly accessible on blockchain explorers. He argued that no hidden blacklist functions existed beyond disclosed parameters.

Folkman further said World Liberty faces heavier scrutiny due to its ties to President Donald Trump. He described the connection as both a “blessing and curse” for distribution and growth. He stated that the association accelerated adoption while increasing media and public attention.

TLDR

• Blockchain.com has launched crypto-backed loans for users worldwide.
• The product allows clients to borrow against Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC without selling their assets.
• Loan rates start at 1.9% per year, making the offering competitive in the market.
• The service targets large crypto holders seeking liquidity for property, business, and tax needs.
• CEO Peter Smith said crypto-backed lending has been one of the most requested products on the platform.
• Blockchain.com stated it will use its existing liquidity, infrastructure, and risk systems to support the rollout.

Blockchain.com has introduced crypto-backed loans for clients worldwide. The company now allows users to borrow against Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC without selling holdings. Loan rates start at 1.9% per year, and the product targets large digital asset holders seeking liquidity.

Blockchain.com Expands Lending Access for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC

Blockchain.com confirmed global availability of its crypto-backed loans product. The service enables clients to pledge Bitcoin as collateral and secure cash for major expenses. Borrowers can fund property purchases, business investments, and tax obligations through structured loans.

The company stated that rates begin at 1.9% annually, positioning the offer competitively. It is designed for high-value accounts seeking larger borrowing limits. It also structured the loans to let clients maintain market exposure while accessing capital.

Blockchain.com included Ethereum in the approved collateral list at launch. Clients can lock Ethereum holdings and receive liquidity without executing a sale. The structure supports long-term holders who prefer to retain digital assets during financing.

The firm also approved USDC as eligible collateral under the program. Users can pledge USDC to unlock funding for various permitted uses. However, the company said loan purposes may differ depending on the jurisdiction.

CEO and founder Peter Smith addressed the demand for the new product. He said, “Crypto-backed lending has been one of the most requested products on our platform.” He added that the company plans to compete aggressively in the category.

Smith emphasized existing operational strength within the company. He said Blockchain.com does not enter the lending market from a standing start. He pointed to established liquidity, infrastructure, and risk management systems.

The company stated that these systems already support institutions and wealth clients. It will now extend those capabilities to a broader customer base. The rollout forms part of its consumer and wealth expansion strategy.

Company Targets High Net Worth Clients as Crypto Lending Tops $70 billion

Blockchain.com launched the product as the crypto-backed lending market surpassed $70 billion. The company cited growing demand from holders seeking structured liquidity solutions. It aims to provide competitive pricing and higher borrowing capacity.

The firm said it operates across more than 70 jurisdictions worldwide. It reported processing over $1.2 trillion in transactions to date. It will leverage this footprint to distribute the lending product globally.

Blockchain.com also plans to expand into lending transfers for high-net-worth individuals. The company said it will use blockchain infrastructure to streamline crypto-backed credit. It aims to position its platform as a financial hub for digital asset users.

A U.S. federal judge in the Southern District of New York has delivered a sentencing ruling in the Celsius Network saga, with Roni Cohen-Pavon, the platform’s former chief revenue officer, receiving time served plus one year of supervised release for his role in manipulating the CEL token price and defrauding Celsius users. The decision reinforces the ongoing emphasis by U.S. authorities on market integrity and investor protection within the crypto landscape.

During the sentencing before Judge John Koeltl, Cohen-Pavon had initially entered a not-guilty plea to four counts in September 2023, before changing course to plead guilty about a week later. He is an Israeli citizen who was abroad at the time of the indictment and later reentered the United States for arraignment, posting a $500,000 bond with travel restrictions while the case proceeded toward sentencing. The Celsius matter was pursued alongside former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky in July 2023, in the wake of Celsius’s 2022 collapse that precipitated substantial losses for investors and platform users.

As the sentencing moves to closure for Cohen-Pavon, the broader Celsius prosecutions remain active but are winding down. Mashinsky, already serving a 12-year sentence in related criminal proceedings, faces separate financial penalties in connection with the case. The court ordered Mashinsky to forfeit $48 million; Cohen-Pavon agreed to pay more than $1 million and a $40,000 fine. In a letter to the judge submitted before sentencing, Cohen-Pavon acknowledged the long path ahead and asserted a commitment to personal reform, framing the sentence as only one facet of a broader obligation to his family and community.

Background coverage indicates that Celsius’s collapse—not only the losses borne by investors and users but also the governance failures implicated in the company’s management—has drawn intensified regulatory attention. Cointelegraph has reported on related developments, noting that the Mashinsky case remains a focal point of enforcement activity in the crypto sector and highlighting ongoing scrutiny of corporate conduct within crypto lending platforms.

Tornado Cash co-founder still potentially facing SDNY retrial

In a separate but parallel enforcement thread, Roman Storm, the co-founder of the crypto-mixing service Tornado Cash, may face a retrial in the Southern District of New York after a jury failed to reach a verdict on multiple counts in a prior trial. Prosecutors have sought a retrial date in October to re-try Storm on money-laundering and sanctions-conspiracy charges that the jury could not unanimously resolve. The procedural posture underscores the breadth of regulatory and criminal risk associated with crypto privacy technologies and sanction evasion concerns.

Storm remains on bail, subject to a $2 million bond and travel limitations that confine movement to certain jurisdictions in New York, Washington, and California. A separate development saw a federal judge grant him permission to attend his niece’s high school graduation in El Dorado Hills, California, illustrating the balancing act between individual circumstances and high-profile enforcement cases in the SDNY ecosystem.

Prosecutors have signaled continued diligence in the Tornado Cash matter. In court filings—and as summarized by coverage outlets—the government is seeking to proceed with a retrial in the autumn window, aiming to resolve the deadlock that characterized the earlier proceedings. This case, alongside Celsius, contributes to a broader pattern of DOJ actions targeting crypto services that facilitate illicit activity or evasion of sanctions, with potential implications for mixers, privacy-enhancing tools, and related business models.

Related reporting emphasizes the broader regulatory and enforcement context surrounding these developments. For instance, coverage related to the Celsius matter has highlighted coordination with other enforcement actions against Celsius’s leadership, while the Tornado Cash case illustrates how sanctions regimes intersect with evolving cryptographic techniques and governance models. The cumulative effect is a clearer demonstration of the legal and regulatory expectations that crypto firms, exchanges, and ancillary service providers must meet to operate within U.S. law, especially in matters touching market integrity, sanctions compliance, and consumer protection.

Regulatory context and industry implications

Viewed together, the Celsius and Tornado Cash proceedings illuminate the current regulatory environment for crypto companies operating in the United States. The Department of Justice and allied agencies have sharpened their focus on criminal conduct linked to price manipulation, fraud, and sanctions violations, particularly when such activities undermine market integrity or enable illicit activity. For exchanges, lenders, and other crypto service providers, the evolving enforcement landscape underscores the necessity of robust internal controls, comprehensive governance, clear disclosure practices, and rigorous AML/KYC frameworks to withstand heightened regulatory scrutiny.

From a policy perspective, these cases contribute to ongoing discussions about the appropriate boundaries for crypto-asset products, the role of centralized management versus decentralized mechanisms, and how traditional financial-law principles apply to novel digital-asset ecosystems. They also intersect with broader regulatory efforts at the national and international levels, including licensing regimes, cross-border supervision, and the alignment of U.S. enforcement priorities with global standards. The Celsius and Tornado Cash matters, taken together, illustrate the practical implications of enforcement actions for institutional participants—ranging from settlement planning and risk management to compliance program design and board governance.

Closing perspective

As authorities continue to pursue accountability in high-profile crypto cases, the Celsius and Tornado Cash trajectories underscore the centrality of compliance, governance, and risk controls for institutions operating in or alongside crypto markets. The evolving legal landscape suggests that the coming years will feature continued attention to market manipulation, sanctions compliance, and consumer protection—with significant implications for licensing, cross-border operations, and ongoing industry reform.

Crypto wallet infrastructure firm Turnkey has raised $12.5 million backed by Circle Ventures and Sequoia Capital.

Turnkey announced the raise on May 14, with participation from Archetype, Bain Capital Crypto, Lightspeed Faction, Galaxy Ventures, and Variant alongside Circle Ventures and Sequoia Capital.

The New York-based company builds key management infrastructure for crypto applications, including non-custodial wallets, automated onchain transactions, and policy-controlled signing. The raise follows a $30 million Series B led by Bain Capital Crypto in mid-2025.

“Stablecoins are transforming how value moves online, and AI agents are upending traditional security assumptions,” said Bryce Ferguson, CEO and co-founder of Turnkey. “Verifiable Cloud is our answer to the security and compliance demands of the next wave of crypto applications.”

What Verifiable Cloud is designed to solve

Verifiable Cloud targets organisations that need to run sensitive operations, including transaction visibility, policy decisions, and agent-driven wallet activity, in a computing environment that can be independently verified.

The product addresses the growing segment where automated AI agents execute onchain transactions on behalf of users and businesses, creating security demands that traditional key management was not built to handle.

Sequoia Capital has been building its exposure to stablecoin and crypto infrastructure through its portfolio. Circle Ventures, the investment arm of USDC issuer Circle, is expanding its backing of stablecoin payment infrastructure across the stack.

Their combined participation signals institutional confidence in the private key management layer as crypto moves into enterprise payments and AI-driven financial applications. Turnkey’s customer base, which includes stablecoin-focused platforms like Polymarket and Anchorage Digital, positions it within the fastest-growing segments of institutional crypto in 2026.

Key Highlights

• ASST stock climbs as Strive introduces daily SATA dividend structure alongside bitcoin treasury expansion.

• Company’s SATA preferred shares transition to daily cash distributions beginning June 16.

• ASST advances following complete debt retirement and enhanced bitcoin accumulation strategy.

• Strive now controls 15,009 BTC while ASST rallies on innovative income structure announcement.

• New daily payout mechanism positions Strive distinctively within bitcoin treasury company landscape.

Shares of Strive (ASST) climbed after the firm combined balance sheet improvements with an innovative income-generating offering. ASST reached $17.97, posting a 7.32% gain, while maintaining strength throughout the trading session. The upward movement coincided with regulatory filings detailing debt elimination and modifications to preferred share terms.

Strive, Inc., ASST

Strive announced that its subsidiary, Semler Scientific, finalized the buyback and cancellation of all outstanding 2030 convertible notes. This transaction eliminated liabilities associated with the 4.25% Convertible Senior Notes scheduled to mature in 2030. Furthermore, the trustee validated that all indenture requirements were met and discharged.

Eliminating this debt provides Strive with increased financial flexibility for its capital allocation initiatives. Additionally, the firm currently maintains a minimal debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, based on InvestingPro metrics. This metric underscores the company’s recent deleveraging efforts and improves its overall financial positioning.

SATA Preferred Shares Transition to Daily Payment Model

Strive revised the conditions governing its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, designated as SATA. The firm submitted the modified certificate to Nevada’s Secretary of State on May 13. Accordingly, these revisions alter the methodology for computing and distributing preferred share dividends.

Beginning June 16, 2026, SATA will distribute cash dividends on every business day. Shareholders registered on the preceding business day will be eligible for each distribution. Nevertheless, dividend declarations will continue on a monthly basis for subsequent monthly dividend cycles.

The board preserved SATA’s yearly dividend rate at 13.00% for monthly intervals commencing after May 16. Moreover, any unpaid regular dividends will generate additional accumulating dividends if Strive fails to make scheduled distributions. The revised provisions also address dividend postponements, notification procedures, and restrictions on specific payments.

Bitcoin Accumulation Strategy Generates Investor Attention

Strive disclosed the dividend modification concurrent with its first-quarter financial results and bitcoin treasury report. The company purchased 6,001 bitcoin throughout the first quarter. This amount comprised 5,048 bitcoin obtained through Semler Scientific and 953 bitcoin acquired via open-market transactions.

Between April 1 and May 12, Strive accumulated an additional 1,381 bitcoin for its holdings. As a result, the firm’s aggregate bitcoin position reached 15,009 bitcoin. This figure establishes Strive among publicly traded entities employing bitcoin as a primary treasury reserve.

This approach also amplified earnings volatility during the reporting period. Strive disclosed a GAAP net loss of $265.9 million for the quarter ending March 31. The majority of this loss stemmed from fair-market value adjustments to its bitcoin position.