Cryptocurrency lending firm Genesis Global Capital, a subsidiary of crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group, is believed to be on the verge of filing for bankruptcy this week.
An article from Bloomberg published on Jan. 18 stated that the company had suggested it may have to declare bankruptcy should it not be able to raise capital during a liquidity crisis. This is a similar situation to that of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which filed for Chapter 11 in November. Sources familiar with the matter said that Genesis could file for bankruptcy as early as this week.
This news follows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announcement on Jan. 12 that it had accused Genesis and crypto exchange Gemini of offering unregistered securities through Gemini’s ‘Earn’ program. The case is still ongoing.
Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, posted a series of open letters on social media accusing Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert of owing Gemini $900 million as part of the same loan program. However, DCG responded by calling out Winklevoss’ allegations as “malicious, false, and defamatory attacks”.
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Part of the liquidity issues may have been caused by the collapse of the crypto venture capital firm Three Arrows Capital. Silbert told shareholders in January that Three Arrows owed Genesis $447.5 million and 4,550 Bitcoin (BTC), worth around $78 million at the time. Furthermore, FTX owed Genesis $175 million prior to its bankruptcy filing in November, which could have also contributed to the liquidity crisis and reports of insolvency.
If Genesis also files for bankruptcy, it would be the latest in a string of collapses, including Terraform Labs, Voyager Digital, Celsius Network, Three Arrows Capital, and FTX.
