Genesis Capital’s parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), has objected to the lender’s bankruptcy plan, asserting that it contravenes the Bankruptcy Code and plans to pays creditors way more money than the amount of the petition.
Genesis, a subsidiary of DCG, allegedly intended to pay its clients over what the law authorizes. On February 5, DCG lodged a motion opposing the bankruptcy plan.
The court filing states, “DCG would support a plan that pays creditors one cent on the dollar, and the estates have sufficient assets to do so at this time.” The debtors have not proposed such a plan.
DCG argued that the debtors, in collaboration with Genesis’ unsecured creditors and the Genesis financiers’ “devised a cramdown plan” that pays unsecured creditors “hundreds of millions of dollars more than the full amount of their petition date claims,” instead “devised a cramdown plan.”
As per the firm’s assertion, the proposed strategy “prejudiciously advantages a minority of controlling creditors at the expense of others” and “contravenes the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.” DCG further stated:
“It also strips DCG of other valuable economic and corporate governance rights further violating the Bankruptcy Code and demonstrating a lack of good faith. DCG cannot support such a plan, and the court should not approve it.”
Since reaching no settlements with DCG and its erstwhile business partner Gemini, Genesis has been attempting to liquidate $1.6 billion worth of assets.
The enormous crypto bear market of 2022 has impacted several lending companies, including Genesis. The lender initiated bankruptcy proceedings in January 2023 after the cessation of withdrawals caused by a liquidity crisis that erupted in mid-November 2022. According to reports, the company owed over $3.5 billion to its top 50 creditors, which included firms such as Gemini.
Genesis and its affiliates announced a $21 million settlement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 31, 2024. To incorporate the SEC settlement into Genesis’ bankruptcy case, the Genesis legal team suggested a hearing on February 14.
Genesis previously reported in November 2023 that DCG had consented to remit the $324.5 million in past due loans by April 2024. Genesis filed suit against DCG in September, seeking the firm’s repayment of approximately $620 million in delinquent loans. The proposed agreement would permit Genesis to settle the lawsuit.
