Genesis Cleared by Court to Sell GBTC Shares Worth $1.3 Billion

Jonathan Randles, Bloomberg News

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. Bitcoin surged past $49,000 for the first time since December 2021 with trading commencing on the first US exchange-traded funds that invest directly in the biggest cryptocurrency. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Genesis Global Holdco LLC won bankruptcy court permission to sell roughly 35 million Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares worth more than $1.3 billion as the bankrupt crypto lender readies plans to compensate clients who lent it digital assets.

Judge Sean Lane said Wednesday he’d grant Genesis’ request to sell the shares, a process the crypto lender said would be conducted over time with the help of a broker. Genesis also intends to sell more than 11 million shares in two Grayscale Ethereum Trusts worth more than $200 million, according to a Feb. 2 court filing.

Genesis lawyer Sean O’Neal said the current value of the Grayscale shares is roughly $1.6 billion.

Genesis’ parent, Digital Currency Group, attempted to delay the proposed sale until after the bankruptcy court decides later this month whether to approve its subsidiary’s debt repayment plan. Digital Currency Group, which opposes Genesis’ repayment plan, said its not against selling the shares but said the sales could be premature if the Lane rejects the plan.

Digital Currency Group lawyer Jeffrey Saferstein said the parent company was also worried that the Grayscale shares could be unloaded too quickly, depressing prices and minimizing potential recoveries for Genesis creditors. The parent company also sought the right to consult on the Grayscale shares.

But Lane said Genesis, which is being run independently in Chapter 11, has the right to determine how to sell its assets and said sales will be done strategically with a broker to ensure the shares are unloaded too quickly. The proposed sale was also widely supported by Genesis creditors.

Genesis and its creditors have “considerable expertise” in crypto and should have the ability to sell the shares for as much as possible, Lane said.

The case is Genesis Global Holdco, LLC, 23-10063, US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

(Corrects nature of GBTC share sales throughout and adds statement from Lane)