- Nouriel Roubini warns that Bitcoin could soon dip lower than the recent set bottom.
- The risk stems from the bankruptcy risk of DCG and Grayscale according to the economist.
Economist Nouriel Roubini has warned of an impending collapse of Bitcoin (BTC). He says that the implosion, which is already likely happening, will be caused by the bankruptcy risk that Digital Currency Group (DCG) is facing.
In a tweet, Roubini stated that it is likely that DCG, the parent company of both institutional crypto trading firm, Genesis Global Capital, and crypto fund manager Grayscale, could be in a financial crisis at present.
Many – 3AC, Alameda – tried that trade and went bankrupt. Discount can get bigger given bankruptcy risk for DCG (given its exposure to Genesis) and no proof that GBTC has the assets it claims to have. Crypto is the Mother Of All Scammy Houses of Cards. And it is imploding now! https://t.co/W8XFn5AFjC
— Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) November 19, 2022
Genesis has recently halted withdrawals on its platform citing contagion from the FTX collapse. Grayscale, the biggest institutional holder of Bitcoin (BTC) having accumulated over 600,000 BTC, has seen its premier fund, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) trading at a massive 42 percent discount to its net asset value (NAV).
Discount can get bigger given bankruptcy risk for DCG (given its exposure to Genesis) and no proof that GBTC has the assets it claims to have. Crypto is the Mother Of All Scammy Houses of Cards. And it is imploding now!
The Turkish-American professor was responding to crypto trader Nic Carter’s suggestion of a hypothetical trade that could turn a profit from the massive discount that the GBTC fund is trading at. Roubini also added in his response that several other firms, including 3AC and Alameda who are both now bankrupt, have already tried the trade and failed.
Roubini has previously named Grayscale and Genesis in a group of crypto firms he refers to as “Crypto’s Gangsta G Gang of 4.” The other two firms include the Winklevoss Twins-owned Gemini and the Michael Novogratz-run Galaxy Digital. According to Roubini, the firms are all now in huge trouble or at risk of collapsing.
The New York University professor has also taken a jab at Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao while calling the entire crypto market a collapsing house of cards among other names.
DCG and Grayscale dispel investor concerns
Meanwhile, DCG has issued a statement to dispel speculation of its being in financial trouble as a result of exposure to Genesis. The crypto giant said in a tweet that the impact of Genesis’ suspension of withdrawals and new loan generation lies only in that arm of Genesis. It does not affect even other parts of the lender’s business of DCG itself.
The impact lies with the lending business at Genesis and does not affect Genesis’s trading or custody businesses. Importantly, this temporary action has no impact on the business operations of DCG and our other wholly owned subsidiaries.
— Digital Currency Group (@DCGco) November 16, 2022
The impact lies with the lending business at Genesis and does not affect Genesis’s trading or custody businesses. Importantly, this temporary action has no impact on the business operations of DCG and our other wholly owned subsidiaries,
Grayscale issued a similar update disclosing that while it cannot share a proof-of-reserve of its BTC holdings which it holds with Coinbase Custody for security reasons, the strict regulatory compliance under which it operates its GBTC funds is enough reason for investors to remain calm.
The rules under which Grayscale operates prohibit it from lending out its underlying assets to any other firms. It also clarified that these rules mean that Grayscale has exclusive ownership of the assets.
