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Barry Silbert is a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency industry, as he is the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), a conglomerate of five companies that focus on various aspects of the digital currency market. DCG’s subsidiaries include CoinDesk, a media and research platform; Gensis Trading, a trading and lending firm; Grayscale, an asset management firm; Foundry, a mining and staking firm; and Luno, an exchange and wallet platform. Through these businesses, Silbert aims to accelerate the development of a better financial system that leverages the potential of blockchain technology and digital assets.
Besides being an entrepreneur, Silbert is also a keen investor in the cryptocurrency space, having supported over 200 startups in 35 countries. Some of the notable companies he has backed include Coinbase, Kraken, Circle, Chainalysis, Etherscan, and many more. Silbert is also known for being one of the earliest adopters of Bitcoin (BTC), having bought his first bitcoins in 2012. He subsequently launched DCG using the proceeds from selling his online marketplace SecondMarket to Nasdaq in 2015.
One of Silbert’s most significant contributions to the cryptocurrency industry is Grayscale Investments , which enables investors to access various digital assets through its trust products. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which holds over 650,000 BTC as of September 2021, is Grayscale’s flagship product. GBTC allows investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without having to buy or store it themselves. GBTC also attained the status of an SEC reporting company, becoming the first digital currency investment vehicle to do so.
Grayscale also offers other products that track the performance of other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and more. Additionally, Grayscale has launched several diversified products, such as the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund, which invests in a basket of the largest digital currencies by market capitalization. As evidenced by its growing assets under management (AUM), which reached over $40 billion in August 2021, Grayscale’s products have attracted significant institutional and retail demand.
Another notable initiative by Silbert is Foundry, which provides financing and advisory services to the digital asset mining and staking industry since its launch in 2020. Foundry’s goal is to empower miners and stakers with the tools and resources they need to secure blockchains and build decentralized networks. Foundry has invested over $100 million into mining equipment and operations in North America, making it one of the largest Bitcoin mining investors in the region. Through its partnership with Coinbase Custody, Foundry also offers institutional-grade custody solutions for miners and stakers.
Silbert’s vision for DCG is to leverage the potential of blockchain technology and digital assets to create a better financial system. Not only a store of value, but also a catalyst for social change and economic empowerment are what he considers cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to be. He has expressed his support for Bitcoin on social media platforms like Twitter, where he frequently shares his insights and opinions on the cryptocurrency industry.
Barry Silbert, the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), is facing a bankruptcy case that stems from the failure of one of his subsidiaries, Genesis Global Capital, a crypto lending and trading firm. Genesis Global Capital filed for bankruptcy in January 2023 after it was unable to repay its creditors, including Gemini Trust Co., a crypto exchange and trust company owned by the Winklevoss twins. Gemini Trust Co. sued DCG and Silbert in July 2023, accusing them of fraud and deception.
By lending out their crypto deposits through Genesis Global Capital, Gemini customers could earn interest on them through the Gemini Earn program, which is the cause of the dispute between Gemini Trust Co. and DCG. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Gemini customer assets were trapped when Genesis Global Capital froze withdrawals in November 2022 due to its exposure to the collapse of FTX , a crypto exchange that went bankrupt. According to Gemini Trust Co., DCG and Silbert lied about Genesis Global Capital’s risk management practices and vetting process of counterparties.
Claiming that Gemini Trust Co. failed to properly allege fraud or knowledge of fraud by DCG or Silbert, DCG and Silbert filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in August 2023. They also claimed that a “character assassination campaign” against DCG and Silbert was engaged in by Gemini Trust Co. and the Winklevoss twins. The US District Court for the Southern District of New York still has the case pending.