Wink(WINK)

Gemini told the New York Department of Financial Services it would return at least $1.1 billion to its Earn customers after Genesis Global Capital wraps up its bankruptcy process, according to NYDFS.

Fairshake, a super political action committee (PAC), has now received funding of a total of $4.9 million from billionaire twins Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, Bloomberg reported.

Much has changed since the Winklevoss filed unsuccessfully for the first Bitcoin ETF in July 2013.

The New York Attorney General’s office lodged a suit against Winklevoss-owned crypto exchange Gemini, cryptocurrency lending company Genesis, and crypto investment firm DCG earlier today.  The suit also includes allegations against Soichiro Michael Moro, the former CEO of Genesis, and Barry E. Silbert, the founder and CEO of DCG. New York AG’s Lawsuit New York […]

The lead investor in the fund was B1, which committed $50 million, alongside Richard Li’s Pacific Century Group, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’ firm and Animoca Brands founder Yat Siu.

Did the Winklevoss twins know about Genesis's financial issues before its collapse, given their significant withdrawals?

The internal financial dealings of both DCG and its Genesis Global Capital subsidiary are being reviewed by US federal officials.

The NFT platform Recur has shut down operations despite raising $50 million and having support from industry bigwigs. Big-Name Partnerships Fade Away Despite its initial promising trajectory and significant partnerships, NFT startup Recur has made the disheartening announcement that its Web3 platform is shutting down. The platform's inability to withstand the challenges of the crypto winter has led to this unexpected decision. Recur had set sail with grand ambitions, boasting partnerships with iconic brands such as Hello Kitty and Nickelodeon. However, the cold winds of the crypto winter have taken a toll on the platform's sustainability. The firm acknowledged that its core features would gradually phase out over the coming months, including the withdrawal of NFTs, cashing out stablecoin balances, and trading collectibles on Recur-hosted marketplaces. A Shift In The NFT Space Established in 2021, Recur positioned itself as a provider of Web3 "building blocks" for businesses, enabling the creation of in-game assets, loyalty programs, and digital collectibles through NFTs. However, Recur's fate is not unique, as the broader NFT space witnessed the closure of companies like Nifty, which had also secured partnerships with big media titles. With over 380,000 minted NFTs, Recur is working to ensure the legacy of these digital collectibles. The company plans to migrate metadata and media for its NFTs to the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a decentralized file-sharing network. Additionally, other assets will be hosted on Filecoin's network, indicating Recur's commitment to maintaining the digital artifacts it helped create. A Shift In Value Recur's journey included milestones like the Recur Pass, which was initially sold as an NFT for $300 and granted holders early access to NFT drops. Despite an impressive early sale of a Recur Pass for $88,888, current prices reflect a stark contrast, with the cheapest pass listed on OpenSea for 0.001 ETH (about $1.69). Recur had garnered notable attention with a $50 million Series A funding round in late 2021, valuing the company at $333 million. Esteemed investors like Gary Vaynerchuk, the Winklevoss twins, and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin participated in an earlier $5 million seed funding round. Despite the initial momentum, Recur's journey underscores the volatility and challenges inherent in the NFT landscape. In conclusion, Recur's announcement to shut down its Web3 platform serves as a sobering reminder of the challenges faced by NFT-focused companies in the ever-evolving crypto space. The dissolution of big-name partnerships and the necessity to adapt to changing market dynamics highlight the fragility of even the most promising ventures. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The NFT platform Recur has shut down operations despite raising $50 million and having support from industry bigwigs. Big-Name Partnerships Fade Away Despite its initial promising trajectory and significant partnerships, NFT startup Recur has made the disheartening announcement that its Web3 platform is shutting down. The platform's inability to withstand the challenges of the crypto winter has led to this unexpected decision. Recur had set sail with grand ambitions, boasting partnerships with iconic brands such as Hello Kitty and Nickelodeon. However, the cold winds of the crypto winter have taken a toll on the platform's sustainability. The firm acknowledged that its core features would gradually phase out over the coming months, including the withdrawal of NFTs, cashing out stablecoin balances, and trading collectibles on Recur-hosted marketplaces. A Shift In The NFT Space Established in 2021, Recur positioned itself as a provider of Web3 "building blocks" for businesses, enabling the creation of in-game assets, loyalty programs, and digital collectibles through NFTs. However, Recur's fate is not unique, as the broader NFT space witnessed the closure of companies like Nifty, which had also secured partnerships with big media titles. With over 380,000 minted NFTs, Recur is working to ensure the legacy of these digital collectibles. The company plans to migrate metadata and media for its NFTs to the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a decentralized file-sharing network. Additionally, other assets will be hosted on Filecoin's network, indicating Recur's commitment to maintaining the digital artifacts it helped create. A Shift In Value Recur's journey included milestones like the Recur Pass, which was initially sold as an NFT for $300 and granted holders early access to NFT drops. Despite an impressive early sale of a Recur Pass for $88,888, current prices reflect a stark contrast, with the cheapest pass listed on OpenSea for 0.001 ETH (about $1.69). Recur had garnered notable attention with a $50 million Series A funding round in late 2021, valuing the company at $333 million. Esteemed investors like Gary Vaynerchuk, the Winklevoss twins, and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin participated in an earlier $5 million seed funding round. Despite the initial momentum, Recur's journey underscores the volatility and challenges inherent in the NFT landscape. In conclusion, Recur's announcement to shut down its Web3 platform serves as a sobering reminder of the challenges faced by NFT-focused companies in the ever-evolving crypto space. The dissolution of big-name partnerships and the necessity to adapt to changing market dynamics highlight the fragility of even the most promising ventures. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

His Gemini crypto exchange and conglomerate Digital Currency Group are battling – in and out of court – over the failure of Gemini's Earn lending service.

DCG called Gemini’s July complaint a continuation of a “public relations campaign” carried out by the exchange’s owners, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

[PRESS RELEASE – Read Disclaimer] Asia’s largest Web3 event achieves record growth to be the world’s largest of its kind TOKEN2049 presents top decision-makers across the spectrum of traditional finance, big tech, and global regulators to crypto-native entrepreneurs and builders New headline speakers include Gemini Co-Founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss; Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire; Franklin […]

In July 2013, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss filed paperwork to introduce the first-ever Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). A decade later, the industry is still waiting for a spot Bitcoin product.

Looks like Cameron Winklevoss made good on his promise of pursuing legal action against DCG CEO Barry Silbert after the latter failed to meet his final offer payment of $1.47 million. Let’s find out more. Bitcoin Google Cloud's recently announced a partnership with infrastructure provider Voltage, unveiling a new trajectory for the tech giant's Bitcoin and Lightning ambitions. Lightning Labs, the primary Bitcoin Lightning Network development firm, has rolled out a revolutionary set of tools designed for AI applications. A recent report by JP Morgan looks to play down the effect that the approval of a Spot Bitcoin ETF might bring to the crypto sector. Bitcoin miners have raked in an impressive revenue of $184 million in the second quarter of 2023, breaking previous records. Perhaps because of incredibly bullish statements by Blackrock CEO Larry Fink, Bitcoin has set a new yearly high with expectations of going much higher. Ethereum Ethereum Name Service Labs has announced plans to introduce Layer 2 interoperability for its ENS domains during a community call on June 28. DeFi In the wake of a series of high-profile security breaches plaguing the DeFi space, a group of Ethereum community members has put forth a new standard, ERC 7265, aiming to enhance the security of DeFi protocols. The latest statement from the Uniswap Foundation has claimed that the launch of version 4 of the protocol depends on Ethereum’s upcoming Cancun upgrade. Altcoins The Multichain MPC bridge platform has seen abnormally large outflows, fueling concerns that the platform could be a target for a multi-million dollar exploit. Binance no longer supports deposits and withdrawals for several cross-chain bridge tokens linked with the Multichain project. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has expressed his sympathy and concerns for Solana and other cryptocurrencies in the context of the SEC’s crackdown on the crypto markets. Technology The Open Network (TON) has announced the release of an on-chain encrypted messaging feature, allowing private messages between TON users. Business After Cameron Winklevoss penned an open letter threatening litigation against Barry Silbert over the latter’s role in the Gemini Earn Program, cryptocurrency exchange Gemini is suing DCG, the parent company of bankrupt crypto broker Genesis. A new currency pegged to commodities, particularly gold, will be announced at the BRICS summit on August 22. Crypto Exchange Bitfinex has announced that it has recovered some of the stolen assets from the 2016 Bitcoin hack but stated that a considerable number of assets are still yet to be recovered. The Indian government has partnered with Polygon and Airchains in order to develop a blockchain-based land ownership system. McDermott Will & Emery, the law firm representing Voyager’s committee of unsecured creditors, has sent the group a staggering bill of over $5 million for the work it has done between March and May. Co-founders of bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital plan to donate their future earnings from their new venture to creditors who lost money. Cryptocurrency exchange LBank has announced the launch of the first unlimited crypto credit card. Regulation Israel is considering a bill that would exempt foreign residents from capital gains tax on the sale of digital assets and reduce tax on crypto options from 50% to about 25%. Investigators from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have concluded that Celsius and its former CEO, Alex Mashinsky broke several US laws. The UK parliament has passed a bill that could help the authorities seize and freeze cryptocurrencies used for crime. According to a recent report by the FATF, more than half of all UN member countries still need to implement the Travel Rule. South Africa’s financial regulator has ordered crypto exchanges in the country to apply for licenses before the end of the year to continue operating. In an attempt to combat fraud, Belarus is looking to put an end to peer-to-peer crypto exchanges. NFT Blur founder, Pacman, defends his NFT marketplace against accusations that the platform’s strategies crashed the NFT market as the floor price of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection has dropped to the lowest in the last 20 months. Members of the Azuki decentralized autonomous organization have initiated a Snapshot proposal to hold the project’s founder accountable over allegations of misconduct. Security The Poly Network has fallen victim to another exploit after hackers manipulated a smart contract function on the cross-chain bridge protocol. According to security analysts, hackers allegedly leveraged a vulnerability in the smart contract system to mint an unlimited amount of tokens. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

This week’s Crypto Biz also explores Gemini’s fight with the Digital Currency Group (DCG) over user funds, new banking tools for the digital yuan, and OpenAI’s efforts to stop users from jumping paywalls.

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini is suing DCG, the parent company of bankrupt crypto broker Genesis, after a dispute over the Gemini Earn Program. The exchange decided to sue Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its CEO after the company missed the deadline to agree to a restructuring deal put forward by the Winklevoss twins. The Restructuring Proposal Winklevoss twins-founded Gemini exchange had set Thursday afternoon as the deadline for Digital Currency Group and Genesis to agree to a restructuring deal. Gemini stated that if the deal was not agreed to within the specified deadline, it would pursue litigation. Crypto lending firm Genesis had filed for bankruptcy in January following the collapse of key counterparties of the firm, such as FTX, causing it to freeze all redemptions. While Genesis’ lending unit had outlined a plan to exit bankruptcy, it has so far been unable to reach an agreement on a restructuring plan for creditors, to whom it owes over $3 billion. The largest creditor, Winklevoss twins-founded Gemini, is looking to recover around $1.1 billion. In a letter to DCG CEO Barry Silbert, Cameron Winklevoss shared what he called his “best and final offer” and stated that the deadline for DCG to agree to the proposal was 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) on July 6, adding that he wanted a simple yes or no answer and no further delays or extensions. The restructuring proposal put forward by Winklevoss included a forbearance payment of $275 million, a debt tranche of $355 million due in two years, and another debt tranche of $835 million due in five years. DCG would also be able to retain the proceeds from the sale of Genesis’ lending unit. DCG Misses Deadline, Gemini Sues However, DCG missed the deadline set by Gemini to agree to the restructuring deal, leading to the latter suing DCG. According to the lawsuit, DCG and its CEO, Barry Silbert, misrepresented the accounting treatment of liabilities that the company had assumed from Genesis. These liabilities stemmed from losses that Genesis suffered after the Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) collapsed. In a long thread on Twitter, Cameron Winklevoss stated that the exchange had filed a lawsuit against DCG and Silbert for personally masterminding a fraud scheme against creditors. “Today, @Gemini filed a lawsuit against @DCGco and @BarrySilbert personally in New York court. Barry was not only the architect and mastermind of the DCG and Genesis fraud against creditors; he was directly and personally involved in perpetrating it.” Winklevoss alleged that after Gemini discontinued the Earn program, Silbert reached out to the firm, urging them to continue the program even after knowing that Genesis was “massively insolvent.” “When Gemini notified Genesis it would be terminating the Earn program in October 2022, Barry reached out to set up a meeting to induce Gemini to continue Earn. He did this knowing Genesis was massively insolvent. Barry claimed that Genesis faced only a timing issue – a lie that hid the gaping hole on Genesis’s balance sheet.” Winklevoss further alleged that even after the collapse of Three Arrows Capital, Silbert, and other Genesis executives claimed everything was fine because DCG was stepping in to absorb the losses. “When Three Arrows Capital (3AC) collapsed in June 2022, it blew a $1.2 billion hole in Genesis’s balance sheet. Instead of coming clean, Genesis claimed that everything was business as usual because DCG had stepped in to absorb the losses. It’s now clear this was a carefully crafted lie.” The Gemini co-founder went on to allege that DCG, Silbert, and other Genesis executives conspired to create false financial reports to mislead creditors. “Barry, DCG, and Genesis all conspired to create false financial reports to hide the truth from Gemini and creditors. One report pretended that this phony 10-YEAR promissory note was a ‘Current Asset.’ A total lie and complete misrepresentation. A falsified balance sheet pretended that the note was a ‘receivable’ with a value of $1.1 billion. Another lie.” However, in a statement, A DCG spokesperson reiterated that DCG expects to close the Genesis bankruptcy case soon enough. “Any suggestion of wrongdoing by DCG or any of its employees is baseless, defamatory, and completely false. From day one, DCG has remained committed to reaching an amicable solution for all parties to the Genesis bankruptcy.” Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss alleged Barry Silbert committed fraud by knowing Genesis was “massively insolvent” when attempting to continue the Earn program.

Gemini has escalated its conflict with Digital Currency Group (DCG) after approximately seven months since Genesis Global Trading, DCG’s lending arm, suspended withdrawals. On Tuesday, Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss presented Barry Silbert, the founder of DCG, with a “best and final offer” letter to settle the $1.465 billion debt owed to Gemini. Winklevoss’s letter carried […]

The Gemini founder threatened to sue Silbert and DCG should they fail to agree to the offer by 4 pm ET on July 6, 2023.

One of the Winklevoss twins has demanded a payment of $1.47 billion from Digital Currency Group (DCG)’s Barry Silbert. Winklevoss Calls Out Silbert In an interesting turn of events, Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, has made a final offer demanding a payment of $1.47 billion from DCG’s CEO Barry Silbert. He also threatened the latter with legal action if the final payment offer was not met by the deadline of July 6, 4 PM ET. Winklevoss claimed that the legal action would include a detailed report of Silbert’s personal liability in hiding Genesis’s insolvency issues and filing a Turnover Motion to force the immediate payment of the $630 million payment owed to creditors. DCG’s Credit Struggles When Genesis’s parent company DCG got caught up in the credit crisis of 2022, the latter entered into negotiations with creditors. However, the company did miss a $630 million payment to Genesis in May, which has now led to Cameron Winklevoss penning the open letter to Silbert, with the final offer of a $1.47 compensation. This substantial amount reflects the magnitude of the alleged damages and underlines the seriousness of the accusations against DCG and Silbert. “Game Over”: Winklevoss Winklevoss posted the open letter on Twitter on Monday, claiming that Silbert had never had any intentions of resolving the matter with the creditors in mind ever since the company had halted its withdrawals. He claimed that instead of working on a proper resolution to return their funds to the Earn users, Silbert and his team have dedicated the last eight months to buy time, to “raise money and stiff creditors and Earn users again.” He wrote, “I write to inform you that your games are over. In addition to dragging out a resolution, they have ballooned professional fees to over $100 million, all of which have gone to lawyers and advisors at the expense of creditors and Earn users. Enough is enough.” $1.2B Owed To Earn Customers The demand comes amidst allegations of fraud involving Barry Silbert, founder of DCG, and has sparked widespread speculation within the cryptocurrency community. Gemini had previously lent customer funds to Genesis under the Earn program. Winklevoss claimed that more than 232,000 Earn users have over $1.2 billion of assets trapped in Genesis. Other than this amount, DCG also owes a further $2.1 billion to creditors. Winklevoss closed out the letter by writing, “I've seen a lot of bad behavior from you and your colleagues over the last 9 months, but perhaps the most disturbing part is something you said to me this Fall that you're a victim in all of this. It takes a special kind of person to owe $3.3 billion dollars to hundreds of thousands of people and believe, or at least pretend to believe, that they are some kind of victim.” Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

In an open letter, Cameron Winklevoss slammed DCG's Barry Silbert for allegedly playing the victim card while owing $1.2 billion to Gemini’s 232,000 Earn customers.

Creditors of the crypto financial firm Genesis call for $1.5 billion of forbearance payments and loans denominated in dollars, bitcoin and ether, according to a term sheet posted on Twitter by the Gemini co-founder.

The constant rejections from the SEC has pushed investors into FTX: "the largest financial frauds in modern history," Winklevoss added.

Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss said the SEC's refusal to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF has been a "complete and utter disaster for US investors."