© Reuters.
WILMINGTON, Fla. (Reuters) – Cryptocurrency bank Genesis on Thursday filed for creditor protection, joining a list of failed cryptocurrency firms with names like FTX and BlockFi.
Genesis Global Capital, one of the largest cryptocurrency banks, froze customer withdrawals on November 16 after FTX shocked financial markets with its bankruptcy announcement, sparking speculation that other companies in the sector could go under. The bank is controlled by the venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG).
Genesis’ lending unit reported assets and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion and estimates it has more than 100,000 creditors, according to a bankruptcy filing.
Genesis Global Holdco, the parent company of Genesis Global Capital, has also filed for creditor protection, along with Genesis Asia Pacific.
Genesis acted as a broker of digital assets for financial institutions such as hedge funds and asset managers and had nearly $3 billion in total loans outstanding in the third quarter, up from $11.1 billion a year earlier.
Last year, Genesis provided $130.6 billion in cryptocurrency loans and traded $116.5 billion in assets, according to its website.
The bank’s two largest funded businesses are Three Arrows Capital, a Singapore-based hedge fund, and Alameda Research, a trading firm with close ties to FTX, a source told Reuters. Both are in court recovery.