You might like: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies Update! – February 4

According to the filing, the assets, which are owned by Genesis, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, include approximately $1.4 billion worth of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares, approximately $165 million worth of Grayscale Ethereum Trust shares, and approximately $38 million worth of Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust shares.

The company also requested that the deadlines for consideration of the sale motion be shortened so that it can be heard at the bankruptcy court’s next hearing scheduled for Thursday, February 8.

The GBTC shares in question constitute the initial collateral that Genesis transferred to Gemini as part of its Gemini Earn program and some shares acquired through the bankruptcy of Three Arrows Capital.

The company is also seeking to legally claim an additional 31,180,804 shares (worth approximately $1.2 billion) that were pledged to Gemini but never transferred; the ownership of the shares is currently a matter before the court.

In a statement on its website, Gemini called the motion “an important step forward following the approval of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) as an exchange-traded product (ETP) on January 10.”

Earlier this week, Genesis agreed to pay a $21 million fine to the SEC from its post-bankruptcy funds to settle the agency’s lawsuit against the company for operating the Gemini Earn program.

Also, in the comment section, you can freely share your comments and opinions about the topic. Additionally, don’t forget to follow us on Telegram, YouTube and Twitter for the latest news and updates.

The post Genesis Seeks Bankruptcy Court Approval to Sell GBTC appeared first on Coin Engineer.

You might like: Coinbase Adds a New Altcoin to its Roadmap!

Defunct Crypto Company Settles With SEC

Genesis operates as a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group. As a result of the agreement with the SEC, the company has agreed to pay a $21 million penalty. However, this payment is contingent on Genesis being able to make full repayments to customers and other creditors under Chapter 11.

According to documents filed with a New York bankruptcy court on Wednesday, Genesis requires approval from a bankruptcy judge to pay this fine. The settlement also resolves allegations that Genesis illegally raised funds from investors through the Gemini Earn program, which it operated in partnership with Gemini.

The Gemini Earn program allowed customers to lend their digital assets and earn interest payments. However, the SEC claimed that this constituted an unregistered securities offering. Genesis’ court documents state that the settlement with the SEC will save the company money and prevent further lawsuits.

The company stated that continuing to defend the lawsuit would be a significant distraction for Genesis and its advisors, who are working to return as much cash as possible to creditors and obtain court approval for a debt repayment plan.

This settlement between Genesis and the SEC underscores the importance of regulatory compliance in the cryptocurrency world. Such agreements can contribute to increased transparency in the industry and protect investors. However, they also highlight the necessity for companies to adhere to regulations and fulfill their responsibilities.

The post Defunct Crypto Company Settles With SEC! appeared first on Coin Engineer.

You might like: Core Scientific to Continue Trading on Nasdaq!

Polymer Labs said on Tuesday that the round was led by Blockchain Capital, Maven 11, and Distributed Global, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Placeholder, Digital Currency Group, North Island Ventures, and Figment Capital.

It is unclear when Polymer started raising for the round or when the project closed. Co-founder Peter Kim declined to comment on the timeline. He also declined to comment on the structure of the round, whether it was equity, token, or equity plus token-warrant round, and valuation.

Polymer’s Series A seed round occurred two years ago, raising $3.6 million. Kim said the project is in the development phase of its Ethereum composability infrastructure and plans to launch the Testnet in about 2 months.

Ethereum Interoperability Hub

Polymer Labs is building an “Ethereum interoperability hub” to connect all blockchains, starting with Ethereum, with the goal of creating the next generation of the internet.

Polymer noted that existing Layer 2 networks and interoperability token bridges are widely used but not robust against attacks, adding that the Layer 2 aggregation will enable protocols on different chains to “communicate efficiently and securely, improving their functionality without introducing new trust assumptions.”

The company is using the centrally managed Cross-Chain Communication protocol, the Cosmos standard for blockchain interoperability, and the Optimism Stack.

Polymer said that eventually, any developer building any Web3 application on any chain will be able to use the interoperability tool.

The post Polymer Labs Raises $23 Million in Series A Funding! appeared first on Coin Engineer.

You might like: SEC Regulator Faces Off with Binance

The approval of the SEC to convert the Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a Bitcoin ETF led to investors quickly abandoning their positions, surprising analysts with the size of the sell-off. The Grayscale Bitcoin ETF marks its departure from its previous closed-end fund status, a time when investors could not redeem their shares for BTC. However, as an ETF, investors are largely cashing out.

Over half a billion dollars was withdrawn in the first few days, and in the past five days, the fund has seen over $2.2 billion in outflows, according to Bloomberg data. Interestingly, while GBTC is seeing these large outflows, other ETFs are seeing inflows. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is leading the way with $1.2 billion in inflows.

Large Bitcoin Selloffs: The Grayscale Detail

The underlying reason for this exodus is quite simple: investors are exiting their positions to realize their gains. Additionally, GBTC has the highest fee of any spot Bitcoin ETF in the US, at 1.5%. BlackRock’s IBIT, on the other hand, has a significantly lower fee, at 0.12% (but will increase to 0.25% after 12 months).

This high fee is considered another reason for investors’ desire to exit.

Grayscale’s Bitcoin sales are leading the company to transfer large amounts of BTC to American crypto exchange Coinbase to sell it. This is also contributing to the decline in Bitcoin’s price. Data on the chain from Arkham Intelligence shows that Grayscale has sent about $500 million worth of Bitcoin to Coinbase in the past six hours.

James Butterfill, research head of European asset manager CoinShares, says these outflows are likely explaining the recent decline in BTC’s price. “Further price weakness will depend on when GBTC holders stop selling,” he says, while also acknowledging that GBTC’s fees are quite high compared to the competition.

WHEN WILL THE BLEEDING STOP? I don't know, but this this is some serious daily outflows for The Nine to have to battle every single day.. they've done a great job so far but damn its a lot to ask.. pic.twitter.com/LqwPRETrQf

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 19, 2024

Despite the outflows, Grayscale maintains that the fund is successful simply because of its trading volume. John Hoffman, Grayscale’s head of sales and distribution, told Decrypt, “GBTC dominates in trading volume, is the leading risk transfer vehicle, and has outperformed all spot Bitcoin ETFs since inception.”

The post Large Bitcoin Selloffs: The Grayscale Detail appeared first on Coin Engineer.

“DCG is pleased to announce that we have paid off all short-term debts to Genesis. In total, DCG has settled over $1 billion in obligations to creditors in a little over the past year, including nearly $700 million owed to Genesis, meeting all current obligations.”

pic.twitter.com/dUEi8j7nHo

— Digital Currency Group (@DCGco) January 5, 2024

The post DCG Paid Its 700 Million Dollar Debt to Genesis! appeared first on Coin Engineer.