Genesis Files for Bankruptcy
The crypto world has been hit by further bad news this week as crypto-lender Genesis Global Capital files for bankruptcy. The lender, owned by Digital Currency Group, reportedly froze customer accounts in mid-November on the back of FTX Capital collapsing in a bid to prevent a mass-withdrawal. The collapse of FTX fuelled a wave of concern that similar companies might go under.
Legal Dispute
In the bankruptcy claim filed with the Southern District of New York, Genesis reported that it had assets between $1 billion and $10 billion with more than 100,000 creditors. The news comes while Genesis is already engaged in a legal wrangle with Gemini Trust Co. The group, owned by the Winklevoss twins, had been jointly engaged on a crypto project called Earn, with Genesis. Gemini claims Genesis owes around $900 billion to around 340,000 investors. Both groups were recently charged by the SEC with illegally selling securities through the Earn program.
BTC Recovering in 2023
Crypto sentiment has been improving recently with BTC up almost 50% from last year’s lows. However, the rally has stalled for now amidst the broader downturn in risk appetite we’ve seen on the back of dismal US retail sales for December. Looking ahead, BTC should continue to gain if fresh USD weakness materialises, perhaps in response to a smaller hike at the February FOMC.
Technical Views
BTC
The rally in BTC has seen the market breaking above the bearish trend line and above several key resistance levels. For now, the rally has stalled though price remains atop the 20575 level. While price holds above here, the focus is on a continued push higher with 22600 the next upside level to note, ahead of the bigger target at 24930.