A court ruling has allowed Genesis Global Holdco LLC to go ahead with the sale of about 35 million shares in Grayscale’s GBTC fund, which are worth more than $1.3 billion.
Judge Sean Lane on Wednesday opened the door for Genesis to either cash in or convert these shares into bitcoin, according to a Bloomberg report.
This move comes as Grayscale’s flagship GBTC fund has shifted into a bitcoin ETF, leading the pack in trading volume since its launch last month. However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing; the ETF has seen a drop of more than $6 billion in value.
Genesis, under the Digital Currency Group umbrella, is also eyeing the sale of over 11 million shares in two Grayscale Ethereum Trusts, aiming to raise more than $200 million. There’s been a bit of a holdup, though. Digital Currency Group wanted to wait on this sale until a decision was made on a debt repayment plan, fearing a premature sale could backfire if the plan fell through.
On another front, Genesis agreed to pay a $21 million fine to the SEC earlier this month. This settlement is to clear up charges from a year ago related to the Gemini Earn program. Both Gemini and Genesis faced accusations of offering and selling securities to retail investors without the proper registration, stirring up significant legal trouble.
Earlier in October, Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange owned by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, filed a lawsuit against its former business partner, Genesis Global, to determine the rightful owner of approximately 60 million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). These shares are valued at nearly $1.6 billion.
The lawsuit, filed as part of Genesis’ bankruptcy proceedings, seeks to establish its claim over the GBTC shares that were pledged as collateral. The exchange argues that acquiring control of these shares would fully secure and satisfy the claims of all its Earn customers, who faced frozen funds when Genesis halted withdrawals last year.
Genesis and its parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), previously announced that Gemini Earn users are estimated to recover approximately 95-110% of their claims. Additionally, DCG’s bankruptcy plan outlines a potential path for unsecured creditors who could receive between 70% to 90% of their owed amount in USD, and in-kind recoveries could range from 65% to 90% based on the asset allocation.
