Crypto broker Genesis owes Gemini’s customers $900 million

The Winklevoss brothers' cryptocurrency exchange Gemini clients are owed $900 million by cryptocurrency broker Genesis and its parent business Digital Currency Group (DCG), the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

According to the publication, which cited persons with knowledge of the situation, cryptocurrency exchange Gemini is attempting to recoup the assets after Genesis was caught off guard by Sam Bankman-FTX Fried's crypto group's bankruptcy last month.

Barry Silbert, the chief executive of venture capital firm Digital Currency Group, informed shareholders last month that Genesis Trading and cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale owe $575 million to Genesis' crypto lending division.

In order to recover the monies from Genesis and its parent DCG, Gemini, which manages a crypto loan product in collaboration with Genesis, has now established a creditors' committee, according to the newspaper.

Separately, Coindesk reported on Sunday that creditor parties negotiating with Genesis presently account for loans totaling $1.8 billion, and that number is certain to rise.

The law firm Proskauer Rose is representing a second group of Genesis creditors, with loans totaling $900 million, according to CoinDesk, which cited a source.

Reuters contacted Genesis and Gemini for comment, but neither company responded right away.

According to three people familiar with the situation, the New York Times reported last month that Genesis had recruited investment firm Moelis & Company to investigate possibilities, including a potential bankruptcy.

The sudden demise of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX was cited as the reason Genesis Global Capital last month froze customer redemptions in its lending operation.

In the highest-profile crypto meltdown to date, cryptocurrency trading site FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in the US on November 11 after users withdrew billions from the platform in just three days and rival exchange Binance abandoned a rescue plan.