Sep 16, 2023

Genesis Global Trading (GGT), the U.S.-focused spot crypto trading business, has decided to halt all its trading operations. This decision follows the recent closure of its U.S. desk and extends to its international spot and derivatives trading operations as well. While Genesis’ lending division sought bankruptcy protection earlier this year, the trading business initially remained unaffected a spokesperson told CoinDesk, which also owned by Genesis parent Digital Currency Group. However, considering the changing industry landscape, the company has now taken this broader step to cease trading activities. Genesis was a major provider of trading services to institutional clients before encountering challenges last year. “Genesis has decided to stop offering digital asset spot and derivatives trading through GGC International, Ltd. (GGCI). This decision was made voluntarily and for business reasons. With this termination of services from GGCI, Genesis no longer offers trading services through any of its business entities,” the statement reads. Genesis is set to close its over-the-counter (OTC) trading platform later this month, with the shutdown scheduled for September 18, according to an email sent to clients. All trades must be settled by September 21, and all remaining open accounts will be closed at the end of the day on September 30. The company stated that the decision was made voluntarily and for business reasons. GGT is part of the Genesis conglomerate but managed to avoid bankruptcy earlier this year, which affected other Genesis-linked firms. Genesis had previously launched the world’s first Bitcoin OTC trading desk in 2013 and has grown into one of the largest in the industry, managing large spot volume and serving over 1,000 institutional clients. Indeed,  Coinbase  has taken a step to fill the institutional lending gap left by the troubles faced by Genesis and BlockFi. The company raised $57 million to launch its over-collateralized crypto lending platform, which enables it to receive crypto collateral from clients and provide secure loans to institutional clients, similar to prime brokerages in traditional finance. Earlier this month, Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its subsidiary, Genesis, reached an in-principle agreement with creditors to settle claims made during Genesis’ bankruptcy. The plan addresses Genesis’ outstanding debts, including roughly $630 million in unsecured loans  maturing in May 2023  and an outstanding $1.1 billion under an unsecured promissory note due in 2032.