Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, called for Digital Currency Group Inc (DCG) head Barry Silbert’s removal on Tuesday, amid growing tensions between the two prominent crypto executives in the aftermath of the FTX collapse.
In an open letter shared on Twitter, Cameron Winklevoss is demanding the resignation of CEO Barry Silbert on allegations that he was involved in a scheme to defraud customers of Gemini and Earn.
According to Winklevoss, Genesis Global Capital (Genesis) and its parent firm, DCG, perpetrated a campaign of lies and deceit to convince Gemini, Earn users, and other lenders that DCG had invested $1.2 billion in Genesis when in fact, DCG had not done so.
According to Winklevoss’s letter, these false claims were an attempt to make it seem as though Genesis had sufficient financial resources. Further, he said that Silbert’s greed was to blame for Genesis lending money to the doomed hedge fund 3AC, despite the low quality of the collateral offered by the company.
Winklevoss continued:
For all these reasons there is no path forward as long as Barry remains CEO at DCG […] These lenders deserve a resolution for their recovery and can only be achieved with new management at DCG.
Bad business
Gemini previously partnered with DCG’s Genesis to offer a crypto lending product dubbed Earn. When FTX declared bankruptcy in November, Genesis halted customer withdrawals. This resulted in a massive backlash from the cryptocurrency community as users could not liquidate their holdings.
In an earlier open letter, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss accused DCG and Genesis of engaging in “bad-faith stall tactics” to avoid paying back their loans. The pair has a massive $900 million debt to customers of Gemini. Silbert, one of the most prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, has denied these allegations.
