Copper's 'reckless' party with sushi platter model shows crypto is a perfect fit for Wall Street – DL News

London-based cryptocurrency custodian Copper, which is chaired by former British Prime Minister Philip Hammond, has been shut down after photos from a party showed guests being served sushi from the body of a scantily-clad model. announced that it would begin a review.

Such antics these days are reminiscent of bygone eras, like the '90s, when “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort was nitpicking penny stocks between cocaine and Quaalude prostitutes. Looks like a mistake.

The event, which took place last week at London's Mandrake Hotel, was first reported on financial times newspaperwhich excited the city's financial community.

The event, held in conjunction with the Digital Asset Summit hosted by crypto news company Blockworks, took place in a red-lit conference room.

Drinks in hand, attendees plucked nigiri and maki rolls from men and women in bodysuits lying face down on conference tables.

copper said DL News Today, the company announced that it has launched an internal investigation following an “embarrassing” incident that is “not consistent with our company's values.”

“Is it irrational? Yes. Is it unique to cryptocurrencies? No,” said one crypto executive who was attending the Digital Asset Summit but not the party.

In fact, inappropriate behavior continues to be prevalent in the financial world.

Just last month, bloomberg Bank employees at Citigroup have been accused of disorderly conduct and fired for drinking alcohol at a client event.

Another article last week reported that a City trader had told junior employees to wear short skirts and high heels. Last year, Goldman Sachs paid more than $200 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging gender discrimination.

One female employee described the misconduct at Goldman, which denies any wrongdoing, as “white noise.”

“It's reckless and stupid.”

Copper's party last week was “not a special or private event,” a Copper official said. DL News. “This is reckless and stupid performance art that a third-party event organizer came up with, and it’s not like the crypto fraternity was crazy about it.”

No wonder our crypto friends are getting a little carried away. It's a bull market.

Larry Fink's BlackRock launched a Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund just a few months ago, but more than $12 billion in inflows into more than a dozen new Bitcoin ETFs dashed even the loftiest expectations. .

Bitcoin is trading at near-record levels, which is driving much of the crypto market higher.

Copper will “review its existing processes for approving events and sponsorship arrangements and what value such events will have to the company going forward,” the company said.

“No one would pay out of pocket for such nonsense, so the fact that this service is being offered would suggest that it is being done by other markets and industries. ” said a crypto executive who spent years on bank trading floors.

Larry Fink gives legitimacy

The cryptocurrency industry has long sought mainstream legitimacy.

Convicted fraudster Sam Bankman Fried, founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has become a caricature of that greed.

Before the 2022 crash, FTX paid Tom Brady $55 million in advertising fees and spent $135 million for naming rights to a sports arena in Miami.

Just a few years later, the crypto industry now has a better champion in Fink. The CEO of BlackRock, which manages about $10 trillion in funds, has appeared on TV many times touting the wonders of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

And with further interest rate cuts looming and stock indexes around the world reaching record highs, The Wolf of Wall Street becomes more of a “reckless and foolish” movie than a cautionary tale. It's no longer too much.

Blockworks, which co-hosted the sushi party, did not respond to a request for comment.