Gemini Considered Merger With Genesis Before Bankruptcy – Unchained

An email from DCG CEO Barry Silbert in 2022 reveals details of a lunch between himself and Gemini’s Cameron Winklevoss, where the two discussed joining forces to become a “juggernaut” that would compete with Coinbase and FTX.

A new piece of evidence shared by lawyers for Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its CEO Barry Silbert appears to show that DCG and crypto exchange Gemini were in talks to potentially merge their entities just months before things went south for DCG subsidiary Genesis.

In a court filing on March. 6, lawyers shared an email between Silbert and other DCG executives detailing the key items of discussion at a lunch Silbert had with Gemini cofounder Cameron Winklevoss on October 20, 2022.

“He [Cameron] is intrigued about the idea of a closer partnership between Genesis/Gemini/DCG, including a potential merger of the companies. I put him on clear notice that the path we’re on right now could lead to a Genesis bankruptcy, which would put Gemini’s deposits (and therefore, Gemini’s business) at significant risk,” wrote Silbert. 

“He took that part surprisingly well and appreciates we need to work together to mitigate that risk.”

The lawyers used the email to argue against claims that Silbert knew Genesis was insolvent and attempted to hide the fact from counterparties, in a motion to dismiss a $3 billion lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of the State of New York.

Some of the selling points made by Silbert on subject of joining forces with Gemini included the fact that the two entities “would be a juggernaut and would be competitive with Coinbase and FTX.”

At the time, Silbert proposed raising $500 million to $1 billion to take the company public over the next two years. Silbert also offered moving DCG subsidiary Grayscale Investments’ assets over to Gemini so that it would become the largest crypto custody provider in the world.

The language in the email suggests that Silbert was trying to dissuade Winklevoss from terminating Gemini’s partnership with Genesis. He expressed concerns that Genesis would be unable to replace the liquidity if the Gemini Earn program was to end, and could likely trigger a further bank run on Genesis.

“We need to avoid a bank run, no matter what. It will be difficult, if not impossible, for Genesis to find replacement liquidity,” said Silbert in the email.

The two entities never ended up merging, and with FTX’s shock collapse a month later, Genesis ended up freezing withdrawals citing “unprecedented market turmoil.” Last October, Gemini sued Genesis to retrieve $1.6 billion in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) assets.