March 16, 202612 min readUpdated September 8, 2026
Genesis Global Holdco, LLC and its operating affiliates Genesis Global Capital, LLC and Genesis Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. filed chapter 11 petitions on January 19, 2023, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The cases followed successive crypto-market failures — the Luna/TerraUSD collapse, the liquidation of Three Arrows Capital, and the November 2022 failure of FTX — that drained liquidity from the institutional lending platform and forced a pause on all lending and borrowing activity. Total liabilities were approximately $5.1 billion.
After more than a year of contested plan negotiations, Judge Sean H. Lane signed a confirmation order on May 31, 2024, approving a wind-down plan that would return approximately $3 billion to customers. The plan resolved disputes with parent company Digital Currency Group, incorporated a settlement with crypto exchange Gemini, and established a framework for distributing cash and digital assets to creditors across three separately classified debtor estates. The plan became effective on August 2, 2024, and the wind-down debtors commenced distributions to creditors on the same date.
Genesis Global Holdco, LLC (3 jointly administered entities)
Court
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York
Case Number
23-10063
Petition Date
January 19, 2023
Confirmation Date
May 31, 2024
Judge
Hon. Sean H. Lane
Claims Agent
Kroll Restructuring Administration LLC
Case Snapshot
Genesis Platform and DCG Ownership
The operating entities — Genesis Global Capital, LLC and Genesis Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. — ran spot trading, lending and borrowing, derivatives, and custodial services for institutional and high-net-worth customers. Genesis Global Holdco was wholly owned by Digital Currency Group, Inc. Genesis Global Trading, Inc. and several other affiliates remained outside the debtor group.
The first-day declaration ties the filing directly to successive crypto-market shocks. The Luna/TerraUSD collapse in May 2022 destabilized lending counterparties, and the subsequent liquidation of Three Arrows Capital left Genesis Asia Pacific holding roughly $2.4 billion in loans to the failed hedge fund. Collateral recovered after foreclosure was worth approximately $1.2 billion.
The November 2022 collapse of FTX triggered a further liquidity crisis. Customers called approximately $827 million of loans, and the debtors faced what A. Derar Islim, who filed the first-day declaration, described as severe liquidity stress. Genesis Global Capital and Genesis Asia Pacific paused all lending and borrowing activity on November 16, 2022, roughly two months before the chapter 11 filing. The filing was presented as a value-maximizing restructuring intended to preserve assets, stabilize the estates, and maximize recoveries for creditors.
Genesis affiliates also carried direct FTX exposure: approximately $175 million in digital assets held at FTX and roughly $37 million in loans to Alameda Research, with an estimated $7 million loss on the Alameda positions.
Three Arrows, DCG Note, and FTX Exposure
The first-day declaration puts total liabilities at approximately $5.1 billion as of November 30, 2022, including intercompany balances. Several balance-sheet pressure points shaped the restructuring:
Three Arrows Capital exposure. Genesis Asia Pacific had extended roughly $2.4 billion in loans to Three Arrows Capital. Post-foreclosure collateral covered approximately half that amount. The debtors later executed a settlement with the joint liquidators of Three Arrows Capital, and the settlement effective date occurred on or about January 2, 2024.
DCG promissory note. Digital Currency Group issued Genesis Global Capital a $1.1 billion promissory note dated June 30, 2022, carrying a 10-year maturity and 1% fixed interest. The note became a central negotiation point in plan discussions between the debtors, their parent, and creditor constituencies.
FTX and Alameda exposure. The combined FTX-related exposure included digital assets on the exchange and loan positions to Alameda, totaling over $200 million in at-risk balances. The complexity of the FTX-related claims was enough to require targeted professional staffing: an application to retain M3 Advisory Partners disclosed that Alvarez & Marsal had an FTX-related conflict and needed to recuse itself from Alameda-related dispute work. M3 was retained for those matters at hourly rates ranging from $450 for analysts to $1,350 for managing partners.
Plan Iterations and DCG-Gemini Support Agreement
Genesis filed an initial chapter 11 plan on the petition date and revised it repeatedly through 2023 and 2024. The confirmation order recites plan and disclosure-statement iterations filed on January 20, June 13, October 24, November 4, November 7, November 17, November 27, and November 28 of 2023, plus multiple plan supplements between December 2023 and May 2024.
On November 29, 2023, the debtors filed a notice of plan support agreement. The agreement brought together Digital Currency Group, Gemini-related parties, the official committee of unsecured creditors, and the ad hoc lender group in a framework supporting the amended plan.
The amended joint chapter 11 plan organized recovery around separate treatment for claims against Genesis Global Holdco, Genesis Global Capital, and Genesis Asia Pacific. Implementation ran through wind-down debtors and a disbursing-agent structure, with claims reserves supporting distributions in cash or digital assets. Committee consent, ad hoc group consent, and in some circumstances Gemini consent were built into effective-date mechanics. Creditors in the ad hoc group of dollar lenders were projected to receive a 100% distribution on their claims.
On February 15, 2024, the court entered an order authorizing sales, transfers, or redemptions of trust assets covering GBTC shares (the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust), ETHE (Grayscale Ethereum Trust), and ETCG (Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust) interests. The debtors were authorized to use sale proceeds to purchase BTC or ETH directly, subject to notice and consent mechanics involving the committee and ad hoc group. Competing rights and interests attached to the proceeds rather than being adjudicated through the sale process, and the order authorized a post-emergence PA Officer and Wind-Down Oversight Committee to assume sale authority once the plan became effective.
Confirmation, NYAG Settlement, and Regulatory Actions
Judge Sean H. Lane signed the confirmation order on May 31, 2024. The Gemini/Genesis settlement effective date had already occurred on May 9, 2024, as reflected in a notice filed by the debtors, causing certain Gemini-specific plan exhibits to become null and void upon entry of the confirmation order. The court found that plan modifications tied to the Gemini settlement were not material enough to require re-solicitation. The confirmation order states that the plan's release, injunction, and exculpation provisions were presented in bold and conspicuous language.
SEC resolution. A separate stipulation and order between the wind-down debtors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was entered on April 7, 2025, resolving the SEC's claims against the estates in the post-confirmation phase. Following confirmation, the plan established a distribution framework to return approximately $3 billion to customers through cash and digital-asset distributions across the three debtor estates.
DIP Financing and Priming Relief
Genesis pursued targeted priming-consent relief rather than a conventional broad DIP facility for the entire debtor complex. In February 2023, Holdco sought authority to consent to the Cash Cloud DIP facility, and an order granting that consent was entered on February 10, 2023.
On August 16, 2023, the debtors filed a motion seeking authority to consent to priming of certain liens in connection with the FSP DIP facility. The court granted that motion on September 15, 2023. The motions addressed adequate protection, consent rights, and lien priority on specific property rather than estate-wide rescue financing.
Genesis Global Holdco, LLC and its operating affiliates filed chapter 11 on January 19, 2023, after crypto-market contagion from the Luna/TerraUSD collapse, Three Arrows Capital liquidation, and FTX failure drained liquidity from the institutional lending platform. The court confirmed a wind-down plan on May 31, 2024, and the plan became effective on August 2, 2024.
How much are Genesis creditors recovering?
The confirmed plan established a framework to return approximately $3 billion to customers through distributions of cash and digital assets across the three debtor estates. Creditors in the ad hoc group of dollar lenders were projected to receive a 100% distribution on their claims. Multiple subsequent distribution rounds have occurred since the plan became effective.
What caused the Genesis bankruptcy?
The first-day declaration identifies a sequence of crypto-market failures: the Luna/TerraUSD collapse in May 2022, the liquidation of Three Arrows Capital (which left Genesis Asia Pacific with roughly $2.4 billion in impaired loans), and the November 2022 collapse of FTX, which triggered approximately $827 million in loan calls and forced the debtors to pause all lending activity.
What was the Gemini settlement?
The Gemini/Genesis settlement resolved disputes that had been central to the plan structure. The settlement reached its effective date on May 9, 2024, before the confirmation order was entered on May 31, 2024. Gemini returned approximately $2.18 billion in digital assets to Gemini Earn program users as part of the settlement distributions.
What was the NYAG settlement?
The New York Attorney General secured a settlement valued at approximately $2 billion from Genesis to compensate defrauded investors. The bankruptcy court approved the settlement as part of the confirmation order on May 31, 2024. The settlement also banned Genesis from operating in New York.
Who is the claims agent for Genesis Global Holdco?
Kroll Restructuring Administration LLC serves as the claims and noticing agent. The firm maintains the official claims register and distributes case notifications to creditors and parties in interest.
This article was researched and written with AI assistance, using court filings, public records, and news sources. AI-generated content can contain errors. Verify all information against primary sources before relying on it. This is not legal or financial advice. Read our full disclaimer.
