Crypto Giant Genesis Halts Withdrawals Citing Liquidity Concerns Following FTX’s Collapse

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Winklevoss twins founders of Gemini
Winklevoss twins founders of Gemini

A prominent Hong Kong cryptocurrency firm will suspend over-the-counter trading over concerns of broader market turmoil since the collapse of FTX.

Genesis Block told customers in an email first reported by Reuters that the company’s trading portal would shut down on December 10. Chief executive Wincent Hung told Reuters that the crypto firm is concerned “as we don’t know which counterparties would fail next, so we would rather close out all our positions to regain some of our liquidity.” 

The downfall of FTX has wreaked havoc on cryptocurrency markets, and has sparked investigations into whether founder Sam Bankman-Fried manipulated client funds. FTX’s collapse has reached peers like BlockFi, which is planning for bankruptcy and layoffs amid the mayhem.  

Genesis Block was once responsible for the largest network of bitcoin ATMs and is now urging its customers to withdraw funds as soon as they can. The ATMs are now owned and operated by CoinHero, with plans to expand further into Hong Kong after Genesis Block sold that arm of its business last year.