DCG Looking to Sell Off Some Assets as Genesis Owes Creditors Over $3B: Report

Digital Currency Group (DCG), the parent company of wholly-owned subsidiary, crypto brokerage firm Genesis, is reportedly looking to offload some of its venture capital portfolios to raise funds to cover part of the latter’s debt crisis.

Genesis halted withdrawals in November, becoming the latest crypto lender to face a financial crisis.

• According to the Financial Times on Tuesday (January 12, 2023), anonymous sources revealed that Genesis is currently swimming in a debt worth over $3 billion.
• The crypto lender earlier hired Moelis, a New-York headquartered global investment bank, to explore options, but there seems to be no interest in injecting capital into Genesis.
• Meanwhile, parent company DCG is trying to raise funds to offset the debt, as revealed by people familiar with the matter. The conglomerate is looking to sell off some of its venture capital portfolios.
• According to sources, these include 200 crypto exchanges, custodians, and banks, valued at $500 million. Some of DCG’s major venture portfolios include Coinbase, Blockchain.com, Kraken, and bankrupt FTX.
• As previously reported by Crypto PotatoGenesis owes Gemini Earn users around $900 million, while Dutch crypto exchange Bitvavo is owed €280 million. Bitvavo refused DCG’s offer to repay 70% of its debt, stating that the conglomerate has the means to make full repayment.
• Genesis, which is battling a financial crisis, halted withdrawals in November 2022 after being affected by FTX’s collapse. Recently, Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss called on the Board of DCG to remove its CEO, Barry Silbert, stating that Silbert is incapable of finding a solution that is reasonable for creditors.