By now, the news of crypto lender Genesis halting withdrawals has already made the rounds. The implications of this on other crypto platforms are becoming apparent as more time passes, but being so early, there remains a lot to be seen of how this plays out in the end. However, it is important to note that although Genesis was not a mainstream name like Celsius Network, its reach spreads wider than any other crypto lender in the space.
Unpacking The Genesis Impact On Crypto
In a Twitter thread, Blockworks founder Jason Yanowitz lays out how a Genesis collapse could be more impactful than the FTX decline. The crypto lender which powered a good number of Earn programs could trigger a catastrophic decline in the crypto market if it were unable to dig itself out of this hole.
Yanowitz first digs into the history of Genesis which was actually founded in 2013 when bitcoin was still in its infancy. It was billed as the first OTC Bitcoin desk before pivoting into the largest crypto lending desk. During this time, DCG, the parent company of Genesis, had grown its reach in the crypto market, with companies such as Luno, CoinDesk, Grayscale, etc.
Genesis itself was doing tens of billions in loans and trading volume at the height of the bull market in 2021, loaning funds to major crypto companies such as 3AC. When the latter collapsed, Genesis was…
