On the 10th of January 2023, Barry Silbert founder and CEO of DCG, went on Twitter to share his thoughts on the past year, the Crypto industry and the way forward.
The industry has a lot of hard work to do to re-establish its credibility & reputation, which have been all but destroyed by a wave of unprecedented fraud & criminal behavior. This is going to be a challenging year for all of us, but I remain optimistic. (8/10)
— Barry Silbert (@BarrySilbert) January 10, 2023
He stated that the unprecedented wave of fraudulent and criminal behavior by bad actors in the crypto industry has resulted in a ripple effect creating a dent in the credibility and reputation of DCG.
Although DCG, its subsidiaries, and many of its portfolio companies are not immune to the effects of the present turmoil, Silbert has found it challenging to have his integrity questioned after spending a decade pouring everything into DCG and the entire crypto space.
In a letter to shareholders published Tuesday, addressing the recent speculations concerning DCG, Barry Silbert laid out a point-by-point rebuke of accusations made by Gemini co-founder and president, Cameron Winklevoss, in his open letter earlier on Tuesday that demanded Barry’s removal.
In a Q&A section of the letter, he reiterates that DCG does not direct any trades or loans for Genesis’ business, He further adds that DCG doesn’t “commingle cash” with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, as Winklevoss has alleged.
DCG also made a point to distance itself from Genesis’ restructuring process, referring to the company as a separate and distinct operation subsidiary with its board of directors and management team. Stating that while it has “productively engaged with Genesis, its advisors, and an ad hoc group of certain Genesis creditors, DCG executives have “no decision-making authority” over Genesis restructuring due to the outstanding loans and promissory note.
In his letter, Winklevoss specifically took issue with a $1.1 billion promissory note given by DCG to Genesis, which he called a “complete gimmick.” Silbert, for his part, highlighted that DCG has no obligation to pay back Genesis creditors in an expedited fashion for the losses it assumed for Genesis unless it receives proceeds from the liquidation of Three Arrows Capital.
DCG said it owes Genesis approximately $605 million in loans at today’s prices, which includes multiple loans subject to different maturity dates, including $525.5 million due in May of this year for bitcoin borrowings. Which were all structured at an arm’s length basis and priced at prevailing market interest rates.
Silbert urges all in the crypto space to collaborate and collectively take the industry to the next level as he assures everyone that DCG will emerge from this year a stronger company than ever before.
