Genesis files for bankruptcy; Cardano creator wants CoinDesk

The biggest news in the cryptoverse for Jan. 20 saw Genesis Global Capital file for bankruptcy. Elsewhere, Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson confirmed that he is interested in acquiring CoinDesk. ByBit said its exposure to Genesis was limited to its investment arm, and former FTX.US president Brett Harrison is reportedly raising funds for a new startup. Plus, research on hedging in the Bitcoin market.

CryptoSlate Top Stories

Genesis Global caves to liquidity issues, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Genesis Global — a Digital Currency Group (DCG) subsidiary — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 19 in the bankruptcy court of the Southern District of New York, it said in a press release.

The derivatives, spot trading, broker-dealer, and custody arms of Genesis are not part of the bankruptcy filing and are operating normally, the firm said.

Under Chapter 11, the firm is considering restructuring, which will be led by an independent special committee of the board of directors, it said.

The firm has between $1 billion and $10 billion in assets and liabilities, according to the press release. Genesis said it has over $150 million in cash, providing “ample liquidity” to support its business operations and the restructuring process.`

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson confirms interest in CoinDesk acquisition

Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson confirmed interest in acquiring the crypto-focused media outlet CoinDesk on Jan. 19.

Hoskinson said CoinDesk appeared to be overpriced for its $200 million asking price, adding that he would decide after reviewing the firm’s books.

Hoskinson said his media interest is broad as he is focused on “how to get to journalistic integrity again.” He added that Cardano had received bad press in the past as certain media outlets had to push specific agendas — citing examples including how FTX funded The Block.

Gemini co-founder threatens lawsuit against DCG, Barry Silbert

Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss threatened a lawsuit against crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its CEO Barry Silbert if they failed to make a “fair offer” to creditors like Gemini Earn users.

Gemini is prepared to take “direct legal action against Barry, DCG, and others who share responsibility for the fraud that has caused harm to the 340,000+ Earn users and others duped by Genesis and its accomplices,” according to Winklevoss’ Jan. 20 Twitter thread.

Winklevoss said Genesis’ bankruptcy was crucial to recovering Earn users’ assets. He added that the bankruptcy would subject the firm to a judicial oversight that would force it to reveal “machinations that brought us to this point.”

ByBit CEO clarifies Mirana exposure to bankrupt Genesis

ByBit CEO Ben Zhou said his exchange’s exposure to bankrupt crypto lender Genesis was restricted to its investment arm Mirana.

Genesis Global’s chapter 11 filing showed that Mirana was one of its top five creditors — the lender owes the investment firm $151.5 million.

Zhou said Mirana only managed some of ByBit’s assets, adding that the firm’s clients’ funds were separated and its earn product does not use Mirana.

The ByBit CEO further clarified that the $151 million exposure was collateralized by around $120 million which Mirana had liquidated already.

Former head of FTX.US raises $5M from Coinbase, Circle for a new crypto startup

Former FTX.US President Brett Harrison is in the process of launching a new cryptocurrency startup that would service institutional clients.

According to a Bloomberg News report, Harrison has raised $5 million from well-known industry investors, including Coinbase Ventures and Circle.

Harrison’s new company — dubbed Architects — will reportedly cater to institutional clients and provide them with access to both centralized and decentralized crypto markets.

AI avatars launch on Polygon as CharacterGPT brings NPCs to life

Alethea AI and Polygon Labs are jumping on the AI hype with the launch of an AI-powered NFT project that allows users to create NFT avatars through text-based prompts similar to OpenAi’s Dall-E image generator.

The project plans to allow “anyone to rapidly create, train and trade AI Characters as NFTs on Polygon.” CharacterGPT, created by Alethea AI, claims to go “beyond traditional text-to-image engines like Open AI’s Dall-E 2… to generate fully interactive and intelligent AI characters with a single-line prompt in natural language.” An example of the creation process is shown in the video below.

Research Highlight

Research: Market hedged the shortest amount in over 2 years as Bitcoin rose to $21k

Investors betting against Bitcoin grew to some of the highest on record as markets welcomed the new year. Bears were seemingly in complete control of the price action as Bitcoin teetered above $16,000. However, CryptoSlate analysis has found that those shorting Bitcoin were not in as strong a position as investors first thought.

The purchase of roughly $200 million in Bitcoin on spot trading markets was enough to force massive short liquidations due to dwindling volume. In addition, several large trades executed on major exchanges moved the needle just enough to create a brief short squeeze that took Bitcoin from $16,800 to over $21,000.

The below chart shows the futures long liquidations dominance (i.e., long liquidations / (long liquidations + short liquidations)). The 50% mark in the middle of the chart represents an equal amount of long and short liquidations. Values above 50% indicate more longs liquidated, and values below 50% indicate more shorts being liquidated.