Barry Silbert, the CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), has issued a statement in which he reflects on his company’s current difficulties. At the same time, Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founder of the Gemini exchange, reiterated his accusations against DCG and its subsidiary Genesis.
Digital Currency Group CEO speaks out
With his company in turmoil, Barry Siblert, CEO and founder of Digital Currency Group (DCG) has issued a letter to the group’s shareholders, commenting on the current situation:
I’ve been reflecting quite a bit about the past year, the state of the industry and where things go from here.
Here is an update to address those reflections, other developments and some speculation about @DCGco (1/10)https://t.co/xEohthubvD
– Barry Silbert (@BarrySilbert) January 10, 2023
DCG owns shares in more than 200 companies in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and the holding company is notably known for running CoinDesk media, Grayscale and Genesis.
It is the financial difficulties of the latter player, which leaves the overall health of the group in doubt, but Barry Silbert explains that each company is independent “with their own management teams” and bank accounts. Nevertheless, he acknowledges that they are “not immune to the effects of the current turmoil”:
On the other hand, this past year has been the most difficult of my life, both personally and professionally. Bad actors and repeated outbursts have wreaked havoc on our industry, with ripple effects that extend far and wide. “
This outburst comes just after Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founder of Gemini, reiterated his accusations of fraud in a new open letter, following an initial outing last week:
Earn Update: An Open Letter to the Board of @DCGco pic.twitter.com/eakuFjDZR2
– Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) January 10, 2023
While Cameron Winklevoss argues verbatim that Genesis and DCG “conspired to misrepresent” to Gemini and its Earn product customers, Barry Silbert did not mention the platform in his letter.
FTX relationship clarified
As with the many stories that punctuate this bear market, it can be difficult to sort out what is rumour and what is factual information. Nevertheless, Barry Silbert has returned to his relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), while the co-founder of Three Arrows Capital also made accusatory comments last week.
DCG made a $250,000 investment in FTX in July 2021, and less than 1% of its trading volume was on the platform. The holding company’s CEO also reportedly had no particular relationship with SBF:
“Other than a conversation in the summer of 2022 and a few emails at the time, Barry does not recall ever meeting, speaking or communicating privately with him. “
Moreover, while Genesis was linked to Alameda Research through loans and business relationships, this would not have been the case with DCG. While Genesis is in trouble, DCG owes it $447.5 million and 4,550 BTC, through a loan maturing next May.
In light of recent news, if Digital Currency Group can pull through the current crisis, it is not clear that all the companies in which it has a stake can do so.
