Crypto Lender Genesis Slashes 30% of Staff, Considers Bankruptcy

investopedia.com:

Cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Trading Inc. laid off 30% of its workforce in a second round of layoffs in six months, and is considering bankruptcy as the FTX contagion continues to spread.

In the latest move, 145 Genesis employees will lose their jobs. Last August, the company laid off 260 employees. The job cuts follow the company's announcement Wednesday that it would «reduce costs and drive efficiencies» amid a tough environment.

«While we are committed to moving as quickly as possible, this is a very complex process that will take some additional time,» Interim CEO Derar Islim said in a letter sent to clients on Wednesday.

Though Genesis has not publicly announced that it will file for bankruptcy, the latest reports indicate that the firm is on the verge of doing so. After the FTX collapse in November 2022, the crypto lender suspended withdrawals, as it had $175 million locked in an FTX trading account. When it asked Binance for help raising fresh capital of at least $1 billion,Binance denied the request. 

Genesis is owned by Barry Silbert's Digital Currency Group (DCG), which is also the parent company of CoinDesk, the news outlet that first reported the deteriorating financial condition of FTX in late 2022.

Crypto exchange and Genesis creditor Gemini is critical of the way Genesis is handling its recent financial troubles. Genesis owes Gemini $900 million, and its founders, the Winklevoss twins, are blaming the parent company, Digital Currency Group.

Cameron Winklevoss on Monday published an open letter directed at DCG Chief Executive Barry Silbert in which Winklevoss claimed that the parent firm was acting in «bad faith» by working slowly on a deal to return the $900 million owed to clients of Gemini's Earn