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Canadian pension fund CDPQ writes off $150 million investment in Celsius

Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has revealed that it wrote off its investment in Celsius. The Quebec-based pension fund had made an investment of $150 million (CAD$200 million) in the embattled crypto lender.

CDPQ manages approximately $303 billion (CAD$392 billion) in assets. It made the revelation of writing off the Celsius investment while giving its six-month (first half of the year) returns report, where the pension fund revealed that it made an average return of -7.9%.

Why did CDPQ write off its Celsius investment?

CDPQ CEO, Charles Emond said that the decision to write off the investment followed quite an extensive due diligence that involved experts and consultants. He also added that the decision was out of prudence saying that the fund had “arrived too soon” while the cryptocurrency sector was in transition.

CDPQ made the Celsius investment last October during a $400 million investment round that was led by the pension fund and WestCap Group.

But in recent developments since the Terra Luna crisis that plunged Celsius into a financial crisis, Celsius has been battling to remain afloat. It even filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in July after halting withdrawals due to worsening market conditions and arising liquidity problems. And in a petition filed by the Law firm Kirkland & Ellis on Sunday shows that the crypto lender (Celsius) could become bankrupt by October.

Celsius currently owes depositors about $2.8 billion in crypto that it is currently holding since halting withdrawals. However, Celsius is currently implementing a restructuring plan that includes setting up another Bitcoin mining plant to ensure it returns to financial stability.

The post Canadian pension fund CDPQ writes off $150 million investment in Celsius appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Colombia planning to launch Digital Currency to curb tax evasion

The government of Colombia has revealed that it is planning to launch a digital currency to curb tax evasion and enhance the traceability of citizens’ transactions

The plan for the digital currency was revealed through a statement given by Luis Carlos Reyes, who is the head of the Colombian tax authority DIAN. The move comes amid a move by many countries towards digitizing their economies to better understand and control the flow of money.

According to Reyes, this would be one of the proposals of the newly inaugurated president Gustavo Petro to curb tax evasion which is currently estimated to be between 6% and 8% of Colombian GDP. In essence, the digital currency will enhance the traceability of merchants’’ transactions to ensure that they do not evade taxes.

Cash payments restrictions

Among the other measures expected to follow the introduction of the digital currency is the restriction of cash payments over $2,400 (10 million Colombian pesos).

While the government is focused on curbing tax evasion, the changes might disrupt the payment channels of a majority of Colombians, especially after the cash crunch caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Colombians are also currently dependent on cash transactions and shifting to digital payments could be difficult.

According to data from the Financial Superintendency, Colombians prefer cash as their main means of payment method for groceries and transportation.

But the Central Bank of Colombia has shown that the circulation of bills has shot to the heist level in the past seventeen months.

The post Colombia planning to launch Digital Currency to curb tax evasion appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Unizen appoints Michael Healy as Chief Strategy Officer

Michael Healy has been in the crypto space since 2010 and is a co-founder of crypto platform Unit Network.

Unizen, a leading hybrid crypto exchange enabled for centralised and decentralised finance (CeDeFi), has appointed crypto veteran Michael Healy as its Chief Strategy Officer (CSO).

Sean Noga, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Unizen announced Healy’s appointment on Wednesday, lauding the former WikiLeaks developer as an experienced hand in the crypto space.

“Michael has been in the crypto space since 2010, and he originally worked for WikiLeaks and built their android application in 2010. He brought BTC into WikiLeaks after Visa/ MasterCard donations were shut off,” Noga wrote in a release shared with CoinJournal.

The Unizen CEO had hinted at the C-level appointment earlier this month.

CSO’s role includes advancing adoption strategies

Other than his role at WikiLeaks, especially with his work on bringing Bitcoin to the non-profit organisation, Healy also co-founded tokenisation DAO platform Unit Network and has previously held positions at London-based venture capital firm Wellington Partners, investing in top firms that include Spotify.

BNB Chain-built Unizen secured a $200 million funding commitment from investment firm Global Emerging Markets (GEM) in June this year. According to the platform, the milestone-based capital injection was aimed at helping boost ecosystem development even as the market battled crypto turbulence.

Unizen’s new CSO has the task of shaping and advancing the crypto exchange platform’s growth plans, CEO Noga noted. Healy’s work will also involve charting the company’s strategic direction and adoption.

The post Unizen appoints Michael Healy as Chief Strategy Officer appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Floki Inu introduces Treasury Bills: users can buy FLOKI at a discount

Floki Inu revealed in a tweet thread that it has once again partnered with ApeSwap to allow its users to purchase its native token FLOKI at a discount via their new sustainable liquidity mining (SLM) program.

The tweet read:

“We’re excited to partner with @ape_swap to allow users to purchase FLOKI at a discount using their new sustainable liquidity mining (SLM) program.”

Floki Inu’s SLM program

Floki Inu’s team revealed that the sustainable liquidity mining program uses yield-bearing NFTs called Treasury Bills. Users can buy these Treasury Bills using Liquidity Provider (LP) tokens and receive FLOKI tokens at a discount.

To create liquidity, users will then be required to sell the Treasury Bills.

The SLM program is designed to allow users to purchase FLOKI tokens at a discount while also providing a way for Floki Inu to create protocol-owned liquidity sustainably and in a cost-effective manner.

To participate in the program, users should visit the Treasury Bill page on ApeSwap and choose “Floki-BNB Bill.” You can then go ahead and create a liquidity protocol by selecting “Get LP.”

The SLM programs provide an opportunity for FLOKI lovers to add to their bags at a discounted price.

It is worth noting that this is the second time that Floki Inu is partnering with ApeSwap for the SLM program.

The post Floki Inu introduces Treasury Bills: users can buy FLOKI at a discount appeared first on CoinJournal.