Bitcoin and ether fell on Tuesday, as crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group reportedly sold shares in several crypto trusts at a deep discount as it seeks to raise money to repay creditors of bankrupt lending arm Genesis.
Major cryptocurrency BTCUSD fell 0.7% on Tuesday to around $22,911, after recovering 38% so far this year, according to CoinDesk data. Ether ETHUSD fell 1.4% to around $1,631 but is up 36% year to date.
DCG…
Bitcoin and ether fell on Tuesday, as crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group reportedly sold shares in several crypto trusts at a deep discount as it seeks to raise money to repay creditors of bankrupt lending arm Genesis.
The largest cryptocurrency
BTCUSD
fell 0.7% Tuesday to around $22,911, after recovering 38% so far this year, according to CoinDesk data. Ether
ETHUSD
fell 1.4% to around $1,631 but is up 36% year to date.
DCG has offloaded shares in several crypto trusts run by subsidiary Grayscale, focusing on the ethereum trust, according to a Monday report from the Financial Times.
It’s one of DCG’s recent efforts to raise money to help Genesis pay back more than $3.5 billion to creditors. DCG is both the parent company and debtor of Genesis.
DCG has sold about a quarter of its shares in the Grayscale ethereum trust
ETHE
raising as much as $22 million in multiple trades since Jan. 24, according to the FT report citing U.S. securities filings.
“This is simply part of our ongoing rebalancing of the portfolio,” DCG told the Financial Times. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment further to MarketWatch.
DCG has also sold smaller blocks of shares in Grayscale’s Litecoin Trust
LTCN
,
Bitcoin Cash Trust
BCHG
,
Ethereum Classic Trust
ETCG
and Digital Large Cap Fund
GDLC
,
said the report.
Still, bitcoin and ether prices have been relatively stable, noted John Haar, CEO of Swan bitcoin and a former Goldman Sachs veteran. It shows that DCG’s sales have largely been priced in, according to Haar.
DCG has also reportedly hired investment bank Lazard to help sell news site CoinDesk and sought to sell some of its $500 million venture portfolio.
Genesis said on Monday that the company and DCG reached an agreement in principle with its major creditors. DCG will issue new convertible preferred stock to exchange its $1.1 billion 2032 note to Genesis. DCG would also refinance its existing 2023 loans to Genesis through a new loan in two tranches. The company also plans to sell its trading arm to Genesis, according to a statement.
