The proverbial gloves are off between the Winklevoss twins and Barry Silbert regarding the fate of Gemini customer funds locked in Genesis Global Capital.
Earlier today, Gemini crypto exchange co-founder, Cameron Winklevoss, shared an open letter to Digital Currency Group’s (DCG) founder and CEO, Barry Silbert, accusing him of engaging in bad faith stall tactics with respect to finding a solution to the liquidity issues facing Genesis.
DCG is the parent company to Genesis, which halted withdrawals in mid-November, resulting in Gemini halting customer redemptions on its Earn program. Genesis Global Capital is a Gemini Earn Program lending partner, and the Winklevoss-led crypto exchange has an estimated $900 million in customer funds tied to Genesis.
It has Been 47 Days Since Genesis Halted Withdrawals
Mr Winklevoss started the letter by pointing out that it had been 47 days since Genesis halted withdrawals and the prolonged period without proper communication or a solution has affected ‘more than 340,000 Earn users looking for answers.’
‘For the past six weeks, we have done everything we can to engage with you in a good faith and collaborative manner in order to reach a consensual resolution for you to pay bae the $900 million that you owe while helping you preserve your business,’ the letter said.
DCG’s and Genesis’ Problems Are Barry’s Responsibility
Mr Winkelvoss added that the problems facing DCG and Genesis were entirely Mr Silbert’s own making.
‘The idea in your head that you can quietly hide in your ivory tower and that this will all just magically go away, or that this is someone else’s problem, is pure fantasy,’ he wrote.
‘To be clear, this mess is entirely your own making…This is money that Genesis owes Earn users and other creditors. You took this money to fuel greedy share buybacks, illiquid venture investments and kamikaze Grayscale NAV trades that ballooned the fee-generating AUM of your trust, all at the expense of creditors and all for your own personal gain.’
We Are Asking for a Commitment By January 8th — C. Winklevoss
Cameron Winklevoss ended the letter by requesting Mr Silbert to ‘publicly commit to working together to solve this problem by January 8th, 2023.’
Mr Winklevoss did not provide additional details or possible consequences for further delays by Mr Silbert, but the crypto-Twitter community is already anticipating a heated and lengthy legal battle between the two companies.
(By John P. Njui)
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