New York, NY, June 3, 2024 – Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini announced on May 29 that it is distributing $2.18 billion in digital assets to users of its Gemini Earn program, news release by PR Newswire said.
Accordingly, Earn program users received $2.18 billion worth of their digital assets, representing 97% of what they were owed, $1 billion more than when withdrawals were halted, and a 232% recovery overall, according to a Gemini blog Post.
This represents a significant recovery for users who had funds locked up since January 2023, following the bankruptcy of Genesis, a crypto lender with whom Gemini partnered.
In February, Gemini announced that it had reached a settlement to pay 100% of Earn customers. 1
Gemini earlier announced that Earn users have received $2.18 billion of their digital assets back in kind, marking a significant recovery from the halted withdrawals by Genesis in November 2022.
The initial distribution represents 97% of the digital assets owed to Earn users, a 232% recovery from the time withdrawals were stopped, and $1 billion more than the value at that time.
The digital asset values are based on prices as of May 28, 2024, at 10 a.m. ET.
The Earn program allowed Gemini customers to lend funds to Genesis, a third-party borrower. When Genesis halted redemptions in November 2022 and filed for bankruptcy in January 2023, around 232,000 Earn users lost access to their digital assets, which were then valued at approximately $940 million.
“This recovery is unprecedented among crypto bankruptcies,” said Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder and president of Gemini.
“We recognize the hardship caused by this lengthy process and appreciate our customers’ continued support and patience.”
The settlement ensures that all Earn users will receive 100% of their digital assets back in kind, meaning if a customer lends one bitcoin, they will receive one bitcoin back. This approach allows customers to benefit from any appreciation of their digital assets since the lending period.
Gemini contributed $50 million to the Earn users’ recovery to ensure this successful resolution.
Today’s distributions account for about 97% of the digital assets in the Earn program, with customers expected to receive the remaining balance within the next 12 months.
Gemini’s efforts included entering into a security agreement amidst the market turmoil in 2022, securing over 62 million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to protect the loans made by Earn users to Genesis. Despite Genesis failing to deliver more than half of the promised collateral, Gemini used the delivered collateral to achieve today’s recovery.
Founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini is a global crypto platform offering a wide range of products and services for individuals and institutions in over 70 countries. Gemini’s reliable and secure products are designed to unlock the next era of financial, creative, and personal freedom.
