Court clears Genesis to liquidate $1.3B worth of Grayscale GBTC shares

A bankruptcy judge will allow Genesis Global Holdco to liquidate roughly $1.3 billion worth of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares as part of efforts to reimburse investors.

In a Feb. 14 hearing for United States District Court for the Southern District of New York conducted via Zoom, Judge Sean Lane signed off on an order allowing Genesis to sell off part of its investments from Grayscale. February court filings suggested that Genesis held roughly $1.6 billion worth of shares of GBTC, Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) and Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust (ETCG)

Genesis said it held roughly 35 million GBTC shares and 11 million ETHE and ETCG shares as part of its bankruptcy filings. Grayscale filed a limited objection to the plan for the firm to liquidate the trust assets on Feb. 9, claiming the sales were “subject to written approval” by the investment firm but did not intend to “delay, impede, or obstruct the Debtors’ sale or transfer of Trust Assets.”

Related: Genesis creditors group calls foul on Digital Currency Group repayment

On Jan. 10, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the conversion of Grayscale’s GBTC to a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund for listing and trading on U.S. exchanges, along with offerings from 10 other asset managers. Genesis said the SEC’s approval would facilitate the redemption of shares in cash.

On Jan. 31, Genesis announced a $21 million settlement with the SEC over its alleged role in offering and selling unregistered securities through the Gemini Earn program. The firm is a separate entity from Genesis Global Trading, which faced an enforcement action brought by the New York Department of Financial Services in January.

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