Genesis settles with SEC for $21M over Gemini Earn
SEC prioritizes investor protection in Genesis settlement.
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Genesis Global Capital (dba has finalized a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), agreeing to pay a $21 million civil penalty.
This resolution addresses the SEC’s charges related to the company’s involvement with the Gemini Earn program, which the regulator deemed to be in violation of securities laws. Genesis and Gemini, alongside Digital Currency Group, reached an in-principle agreement in February 2023 for their restructuring process. This was done in order to address their liquidity crisis following the collapse of FTX.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler emphasized the importance of compliance with securities laws for crypto lending platforms and intermediaries in a statement.
“Today’s settlement builds on previous actions to make clear to the marketplace and the investing public that crypto lending platforms and other intermediaries need to comply with our time-tested securities laws,” Gensler said.
The settlement announcement comes just days after a New York judge denied motions by Genesis and crypto exchange Gemini to stop the SEC case filed in January 2023 from moving forward. The legal proceedings were initiated shortly after Genesis and two affiliates declared bankruptcy in the wake of the SEC’s allegations.
Early this year, Genesis said in court documents it had agreed with the SEC to settle the charges for $21 million. It now appears that this deal has been finalized. Despite this, the terms of the settlement stipulate that the SEC will not receive any portion of the penalty until all other allowed claims have been settled by the bankruptcy court.
Genesis is a subsidiary of Genesis Global Holdco. Since the it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the firm has taken strategic steps to restructure its business and operations by filing voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The decision involves Genesis Global Holdco, LLC, and its lending business subsidiaries, Genesis Global Capital, LLC, and Genesis Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
The Chapter 11 process will involve proposing a roadmap to an exit, which may include creating a trust to distribute assets to creditors and potentially selling all or part of the business to new owners. This move is being to “maximize value for all clients and stakeholders” through an orderly restructuring process, says Genesis. The firm claims it is actively engaged in productive discussions with creditors and advisors, with the aim of emerging from the Chapter 11 process to reposition itself in the crypto industry.
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