Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, which is run by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is reportedly trying to recover $900 million U.S. in lost funds.
The Financial Times newspaper was the first to report that the Winklevoss brothers are trying to recover nearly $1 billion from cryptocurrency broker Genesis and its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG).
Genesis has been negatively impacted by the contagion that is spreading across the crypto sector following the November collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange.
As a result, Genesis is currently unable to repay its creditors, including the Winklevoss’ Gemini.
Gemini, which runs a cryptocurrency lending product in partnership with Genesis, has formed a “creditors committee” to help it try and get back the $900 million U.S. it is owed by Genesis and its parent company DCG.
Genesis reportedly owes multiple creditors as much as $1.8 billion U.S. in loans, and that figure is likely to grow in the coming weeks. The crypto company suspended customer redemptions in late in November, citing the sudden and unexpected failure of FTX.
Genesis has hired investment bank Moelis & Company to explore its options in the wake of the FTX collapse and resulting industry contagion, including a potential bankruptcy filing of its own.
FTX’s bankruptcy is the highest-profile crypto failure to date and is negatively impacting the entire sector with several other cryptocurrency exchanges and lenders failing in recent weeks.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss famously sued Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he stole their idea for the Facebook social media platform when the three were classmates at Harvard College.
After years of litigation, the Winklevoss twins reached a settlement with Zuckerberg for $65 million U.S. and spent most of that money buying Bitcoin (BTC).
The twins formed the Gemini crypto exchange in 2015.
