Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss Threatens Lawsuits on Genesis, Demands $1.47 Billion Payment

04. Jul 2023 Posted by Akolkar B on News

On Monday, July 3, co-founder of crypto exchange Gemini - Cameron Winklevoss - issued a final offer to Genesis parent DCG Group and its founder Barry Silbert.

The Winklevoss twin has asked the Digital Currency Group (DCG) to repay a total debt of $1.46 billion or else face a lawsuit. As we know, Gemini Earn users are still stuck in limbo with a total of $1.2 billion in assets stuck with bankrupt crypto lender Genesis Global.

After the fallout of the crypto exchange FTX last year in November 2022, crypto lender Genesis Global spiralled into liquidity crisis and had to suspend withdrawals. Gemini’s customers for its Earn products used to hold their assets with Genesis. However, these funds have become unaccessible after Genesis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In his open letter on Monday, Winklevoss said that the “games are over”. Winklevoss requested that DCG fulfil its payment obligations, amounting to a total of $1.465 billion, which includes the overdue payment of $630 million that was originally due in May. As per the proposed arrangement, a payment of $275 million is expected to be made by July 21.

The Gemini co-founder has given Silbert a deadline of 4 p.m. ET on July 6 to agree to the deal, or else, he would file a lawsuit on the next day. “This proposal is fair and reasonable for everyone and represents the floor that creditors, who are required to support a deal, will accept,” he said.

Genesis, DCG, Gemini, and other creditors have been engaged in court-mandated mediation discussions. To allow for further negotiation, a bankruptcy judge granted them an extension in early June to develop a revised payout plan. DCG had failed to make a $630 million payment to Genesis, which was originally due in mid-May.

Gemini provided an update on June 30, stating that the mediation period has been extended until July 5. The purpose of the extension is to determine the specific contribution that will be made by DCG.

“Gemini is disappointed in how long it has taken to negotiate a DCG contribution and we are committed to pushing DCG to pay what it already owes to Genesis and to compensate the Earn lenders for the role that DCG had in Genesis’s failure to return Earn assets to the Earn users,” Gemini wrote in the update.