Plain English
Genesis Global was the largest institutional crypto lender, operating as a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG). Filed Chapter 11 in January 2023 with $3.5B in unpaid claims. The lending arm collapsed after Three Arrows Capital default and subsequent FTX-related liquidity crisis. Was the counterparty behind Gemini Earn product.
How it actually works
Genesis operated unsecured institutional lending to crypto funds and trading firms, primarily borrowing user funds from Gemini Earn and other CeFi platforms. When 3AC and FTX collapsed, Genesis was the conduit through which losses propagated to retail savers at Gemini. Bankruptcy plan returned customers ~78% of their claims by mid-2024.
What it means for you
Genesis is the case study in how interconnected the 2022 CeFi collapse really was — multiple front-end platforms (Gemini Earn, BlockFi, others) shared the same Genesis counterparty exposure. The HNW lesson: when assessing a yield product, ask “who is the ultimate borrower?” If you can’t answer in one sentence, the risk is hidden but real.
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Educational content only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice.