Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss (LR), creators of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust Co., on stage at the Bitcoin 2021 Convention, a cryptocurrency conference held at the Mana Convention Center in Wynwood in Miami, Florida on June 4, 2021.
Joe Radle | Getty Images
Customers whose funds are locked up in the defunct Gemini crypto lending program will finally start getting their money back.
The company, owned by tech billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, announced Wednesday it would return $2.18 billion of its digital assets to users of the Earn program, for which it suspended withdrawals in November 2022.
“Today, we are pleased to inform you that your initial Earn payments—approximately 97% of the digital assets owed to you by Genesis as of the date of suspension (November 16, 2022)—are now available in your Gemini account. ” Gemini will tell its customers in an email on Wednesday.
“This follows our previous announcement that we have reached an agreement with Genesis and other creditors in the Genesis bankruptcy case, which will result in all Earn users receiving 100% of their digital assets back in kind.”
The email added: “This means that if you borrow one Bitcoin from the Earn program, you will receive one Bitcoin back. And that means you’ll get any increase in the value of your assets since you borrowed them for the Earn program. “
The $2.18 billion distribution represents a 232% recovery for users since Gemini froze withdrawals for its Earn program customers 18 months ago.
First launched in 2021, Earn allowed customers to earn high returns on their coins by storing them in the Gemini scheme. Gemini then lent the clients’ cryptocurrency to institutional borrowers through Genesis Global Capital, its preferred lending partner.
In November 2022, Genesis Global Capital suspended the issuance and repayment of new loans, forcing Gemini to stop withdrawing funds from its Earn program. Last January, Genesis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Manhattan federal court.
Last week, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $2 billion settlement with Genesis to return money to defrauded investors.