Celsius’ Mashinsky: Also a Fraud? 🥷🏼

In today's edition: Mashinsky gets sued, Genesis lays off staff, 3AC founders subpoenaed, a new pod about Gemini//DCG, and much more!

January 06, 2023

New Pod Today!

Ram Ahluwalia, CEO and cofounder at Lumida, talks about the ongoing dispute between Gemini and Digital Currency Group (DCG), specifically focusing on the actions and statements of DCG CEO Barry Silbert and Gemini’s cofounder Cameron Winklevoss. Ram discusses various aspects of the conflict, including the potential commingling of assets between DCG and its subsidiary Genesis and the options available to Gemini if DCG does not cooperate.

Show highlights:

  • how Cameron Winklevoss’s tweets attempt to put Barry Silbert in the same class of actors as Celsius and BlockFi

  • whether the assets of DCG and Genesis are commingled

  • what Gemini’s options are if DCG does not commit to cooperate

  • whether Gemini will file an involuntary petition for Genesis to enter chapter 11 bankruptcy

  • why Barry's statement that DCG didn't borrow $1.675 billion from Genesis is "very surprising" to Ram

  • why it is relevant whether Genesis has a liquidity issue or an insolvency one

  • whether a class-action lawsuit alleging Gemini's earn product is an unregistered security has any merit

  • the essential role of the $1.1 billion promissory note and whether Genesis will drag DCG into bankruptcy

  • if DCG goes under, what would happen to Grayscale

  • whether Valkyrie is going to become the hero and save GBTC

  • why DCG needs to accept the credit committee terms, according to Ram

What’s Poppin’?

New York Attorney General Letitia James wants former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky to pay damages to users affected by his “misrepresentation” of the firm’s financial situation.

Crypto lender Genesis is trimming its workforce once again as pressure mounts around its potential insolvency issues.

Three Arrows Capital’s liquidators have resorted to Twitter to deliver subpoenas to the hedge fund’s founders after months of unsuccessful attempts to engage with them.

Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital freed up 3,615 BTC held as collateral after paying off loans to Silvergate Capital.

In Other News…✍️✍️✍️

  • Nishad Singh, ex-FTX engineering director, is being investigated by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, the SEC, and the CFTC over his alleged involvement in the FTX fraud case.

  • According to legal filings with a New York bankruptcy court, Alameda Research opposed Binance.US's plans to purchase the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital.

  • Crypto lender Vauld declined Nexo's updated acquisition offer and is seeking to end negotiations between the two companies.

  • Shares of Silvergate plunged after announcing massive layoffs.

  • The creator of the Mutant Ape Planet NFT series, a copy of the popular Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT series, was arrested and accused of fraud for an alleged $2.9 million rug pull.

  • Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, is advocating for more stringent regulations for cryptocurrency firms operating in the country.

Today in Crypto Adoption...

  • Shopify merchants can now sell Avalanche NFTs through their online stores.

The $$$ Corner…

  • Momentum Safe (MSafe), a wallet startup based on the Aptos blockchain, garnered $5 million in a seed round.

What Do You Meme

📈 Your Market Update 📉

  • BTC is up .02%, trading at $16,786

  • ETH is up .04%, trading at $1,247

  • BTC dominance: 38.33%

  • Crypto market cap: $843 billion

*All data as of today, 5 am ET

Recommended Reads

  1. Margaret Rosenfeld on a former FTX Attorney’s proffer agreement with the prosecutors:

  2. hoeem on how Fantom aims to solve the blockchain trilemma:

  3. Emin Gün Sirer on a 2013 story of how a TradFi company “double-minted” and why blockchains are needed:

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