Genesis agrees to pay $21m penalty to settle SEC charges

Genesis Global Capital will pay a $21 million fine and enter a permanent injunction to resolve the SEC’s allegations.

Genesis will seek an injunction alleging that it offered and sold securities without proper registration, according to a March 19 SEC filing. The settlement announced today relates to the company’s participation in the Gemini Earn program, a crypto-asset lending initiative.

“Today’s settlement builds on previous actions to make clear to the marketplace and the investing public that crypto lending platforms and other intermediaries need to comply with our time-tested securities laws.”

Gary Gensler, SEC Chair

Gensler noted that the collapse of the Gemini Earn program highlights the unknown risks investors face when market participants fail to comply with federal securities laws. Thus, in his view, no hype and advertising can replace the investor protection disclosures required by federal securities laws.

In March, U.S. Federal Judge Edgardo Ramos denied a motion to dismiss the SEC‘s lawsuit against the Gemini Earn program. He alleges that Gemini and Genesis offered and sold unregistered securities. In addition, the judge stated that at the time the withdrawal of funds from Gemini Earn was stopped, 340,000 users were participating in the program. At the time, Genesis kept $900 million of client funds on the platform.

This comes shortly after Gemini reached an agreement in principle with Genesis on Feb. 28. If the bankruptcy court approves this arrangement, Earn users can fully receive their funds.