Crypto Lender Genesis Reportedly Preparing to File for Chapter 11

Crypto lender Genesis Global Capital, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), has halted withdrawals and is in the final stages of preparation to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to multiple media reports.

The company might confirm the bankruptcy filings within the week if it fails to raise any cash.

Genesis previously said it was considering a bankruptcy filing if it were unable to raise cash amid a liquidity crunch — a situation like Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX before it filed for Chapter 11 in November and crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, to which Genesis loaned $2.4 billion before it went bust.

The report followed the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing on January 12 that it had charged Genesis and crypto exchange Gemini with offering unregistered securities through Gemini’s “Earn” program.

Genesis and Gemini are feuding over a debt of $900 million. Cameron Winklevoss, the Co-Founder of Gemini, accused Barry Silbert, CEO of DCG, of using “bad faith stall tactics” to resolve the payment.

The debts came from the Earn users with the lending products. When Genesis halted the withdrawals, there were 340,000 customers of the Earn product. If the company files for bankruptcy, these customers have to wait for lengthy proceedings to receive their proceeds.

Genessis is liable to pay creditors more than $3 billion, including Gemini users. Meanwhile, DCG has been scrambling for capital. It plans to halt quarterly dividends to conserve cash and is considering selling some of its assets, which amount to approximately $500 million including nearly 200 crypto projects with banks, exchanges and custodians.

If Genesis files for bankruptcy, it would be the latest in a series of collapses including Terraform Labs, Voyager Digital, Celsius Network, Three Arrows Capital, FTX and BlockFi.