Crypto Firm Genesis Block Ceases Trading Services Amid FTX Contagion: Report

The Hong Kong-based company was once Asia’s largest bitcoin ATM player.

AccessTimeIconNov 18, 2022 at 12:26 p.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 4:03 a.m. UTC
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Hong Kong-based crypto services firm Genesis Block said on Friday it would cease over-the-counter (OTC) trading services in wake of contagion risks from the now-bankrupt FTX exchange, according to a Reuters report.

Genesis Block Trading is unrelated to Genesis Global Capital, which is owned by Digital Currency Group (DCG). DCG is also the parent company of CoinDesk.

"We have ceased trading, 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," Genesis Block Chief Executive Wincent Hung told Reuters this week.

OTC trading, also known as off-exchange trading, is done directly between two parties, without the supervision of an exchange.

Genesis Block also asked customers to withdraw their funds and the company will not accept new customers. It was once Asia's biggest bitcoin (BTC) ATM operator.

A Genesis Block official was previously a director in FTX Hong Kong but resigned from the directorship this month. FTX Hong Kong was one of the about 130 FTX-affiliated companies backed by Sam Bankman-Fried that has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as previously reported.

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Shaurya Malwa

Shaurya is the Deputy Managing Editor for the Data & Tokens team, focusing on decentralized finance, markets, on-chain data, and governance across all major and minor blockchains.


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