Crypto lending unit of Genesis files for U.S. bankruptcy

(Reuters) -The lending unit of crypto firm Genesis filed on Thursday for U.S. bankruptcy protection from creditors, toppled by a market rout along with the likes of exchange

FTX and lender BlockFi. Genesis Global Capital, one of the largest crypto lenders, froze customer redemptions on Nov. 16 after FTX stunned the financial world with its

bankruptcy, fuelling concern that other companies could implode. The company is owned by venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG). Genesis' lending unit said it had

both assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion, and estimated it had over 100,000 creditors in its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern

District of New York. Genesis Global Holdco, the parent group of Genesis Global Capital, also filed for bankruptcy protection, along with another lending unit Genesis Asia

Pacific. Genesis Global Holdco said in a statement that it would contemplate a potential sale or a equitization transaction to pay creditors, and that it had $150 million in

cash to support the restructuring. It added that Genesis' derivatives and spot trading, broker dealer and custody businesses were not part of the bankruptcy process, and

would continue their client trading operations. Genesis's bankruptcy filing is the latest in a cascade of crypto failures and steep job cuts triggered by plunging prices

last year. Genesis was already locked in a dispute with Gemini Trust Co, founded by the identical twin cryptocurrency pioneers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, former U.S.

Olympic rowers. The two firms are fighting over a crypto lending product called Earn that they jointly offered.