First Mover Americas: New York AG Sues Gemini, DCG, Genesis

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New York Attorney General Letitia James today filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency companies the Gemini Trust Company, trading firm Genesis Global Capital, and crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) for allegedly defrauding more than 230,000 investors, including at least 29,000 New Yorkers, of more than $1 billion. The lawsuit alleges that Gemini knew Genesis’ loans were undersecured and, at one point, highly concentrated with one entity, Sam Bankman-Fried's trading firm Alameda, but did not reveal this information to investors. Spokespeople for DCG, Gemini and Genesis did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CoinDesk. Genesis and CoinDesk are owned by Digital Currency Group.

Coinbase has picked Ireland to be its regulatory hub within the European Union (EU), the company said. New EU laws known as the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA) will allow crypto service providers to operate across the bloc based on a license from one of its 27 national regulators. "Ireland has a supportive political environment for FinTech companies, as well as a globally respected regulator," said a statement by Coinbase's Vice President and Regional Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, of the EU country that already plays host to tech giants like Apple and Google. "We look forward to working with regulators in Ireland, Germany and beyond to bring this industry to its full potential with the advent of MiCA.”

The crypto winter may be over, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management said in a post examining whether the recent bear market in digital assets has run its course. “Based on current data, signs indicate that crypto winter may be in the past and that crypto spring is likely on the horizon,” the Tuesday post said. The investment manager noted that the trough in bitcoin (BTC) prices in previous crypto winters occurred 12 to 14 months after the peak. The cryptocurrency reached an all-time high of around $68,000 in November 2021 and bottomed out a year later. “A 50% increase in price from bitcoin’s low is typically a good sign that the trough has been achieved,” strategist Denny Galindo wrote. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has risen 70% year-to-date and 77% from last year’s lows.

- Omkar Godbole