Digital Currency Group to close TradeBlock, the institutional trading platform

On May 31, TradeBlock, the DCG-owned institutional trading platform, will begin winding down its operations.

Barry Silbert’s crypto conglomerate, Digital Currency Group, is shuttering its TradeBlock institutional trading platform https://t.co/duE4YnknrR

— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) May 25, 2023

The company cited macroeconomic conditions and regulatory uncertainty for digital assets in the United States as the reasons.

The decision came four months after closure of HQ Digital, the group’s asset-management subsidiary. At the time, the company cited “prolonged crypto-winter and the economic environment.”

In January 2023, the cryptocurrency exchange Luno laid off 330 employees. Along with other units, the layoffs affected more than 500 employees.

For 2022, Digital Currency Group reported a loss of $1.1 billion. The main cause was trouble at its subsidiary crypto-lending platform Genesis Global Capital.

On November 16, 2022, the unit froze withdrawals and the issuance of new loans. The firm cited “heightened requests” from clients after the collapse of FTX.

The source of the difficulties was the collapse of the hedge fund 3AC in July of that year. The latter did not meet obligations to Genesis Global Capital of $2.36 billion. Digital Currency Group provided support to the firm.

In January 2023, Genesis Global Holdco and its subsidiaries Genesis Asia Pacific and Genesis Global Capital filed for bankruptcy. According to media reports, their liabilities exceed $3 billion. This amount includes claims from Gemini exchange customers of $900 million.

In May, DCG missed a $630 million payment to compensate Gemini Earn users.

In January, the SEC and the US DOJ began examining the nature of Digital Currency Group’s interactions with Genesis Global Capital, according to Bloomberg.