Opinion: Barry Silbert keeps quiet as Genesis goes down in flames

cointelegraph.com:

Just two months after the collapse of FTX, Genesis is following suit.

Against an increasingly disheartening backdrop of “Big Cryptos” going bust, Barry Silbert’s cryptocurrency lender, Genesis Global Holdco, is the latest firm to file for bankruptcy, and if things always come in three, it might not be the last.

Genesis Capital’s parent company, Digital Currency Group, has denied any involvement in the bankruptcy filing, citing “a special committee of independent directors” in charge of the decision, seemingly without any input from Silbert himself. But both companies are already getting hit with fresh securities class-action lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities laws.

The complaint also alleges “securities fraud through a scheme to defraud prospective and current digital asset lenders by making false and misleading statement[s],” which translates to: Silbert knowingly and intentionally lied about the company’s health, profits and future viability, thereby violating section 10(b) of the United States Securities Exchange Act.

Well, this is easy to confirm.

Genesis’ derivatives business had $175 million exposure to FTX, but back in November, when the exchange collapsed, the firm wasn’t forthcoming about its precarious position and released a series of frustratingly contradictory statements that left the community more in the dark than ever.

Genesis TimelineNovember 8: "No material net credit exposure"November 9: We lost $7MNovember 10: Okay, we have $175M locked in FTXNovember 16: Sorry, no withdrawals or new loans November 17: Okay, we need $1BN November 21: We'll go bankrupt without the money

Then, at the turn of a switch, it started reassuring the community with conciliatory, PR-perfect public messaging. As I