Key Takeaways:
- Barry Silbert published a letter to DCG shareholders.
- The 2022 reflections included his "disappointment" over personal accusations he received after Gemini insolvency.
- Did Silbert know about Alameda crash beforehand?
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) – Barry Silbert and his Digital Currency Group (DCG) have been in the limelight for months, as several companies belonging to the Group went insolvent, including crypto exchange Gemini and lender Genesis.
On Jan 10, Silbert published a letter to his company’s shareholders, reflecting on the past year and sharing his thoughts on 2023. Some followers took his words with a grain of salt, as the letter lacked insight n whether the CEO was, in fact, informed about Alameda’s insolvency before the FTX collapse in Nov 2022. However, before addressing the accusations, it is prudent to discuss the letter itself first.
Barry Silbert is “incredibly proud” of DCG.
The letter noted positive developments first, as DCG had invested in over 200 companies since its launch in 2013. Silbert also noted that DCG “helped build the first publicly-quoted BTC fund, the largest asset manager in the space.” The CEO meant Grayscale Fund, which was also rumored to face insolvency, hit by the contagion from Genesis and Gemini.
The CEO noted that his companies were “not immune” to the ongoing contagion. But the hardest part of 2022 was having his “motives questioned after years of dedicated work.
Although DCG, our subsidiaries, are not immune to the effects of the present turmoil, it has been challenging to have my integrity and good intentions questioned after spending a decade pouring everything into this company and the space with an unrelenting focus on doing things the right way.
read the letter.
Also read: Logan Paul Apologizes to Coffeezilla — A Copycat of His Scam NFT Project CryptoZoo Launched.
However, several players in the industry did not buy his narrative. For example, Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founder of Gemini. The latter publicly bashed Silbert for accounting fraud and caring more about his “personal gain” than anything else, putting all the DCG-dependent companies and their investors at risk.
Additionally, Silbert’s audience expected him to refer to the rumors that he knew about Alameda’s insolvency before the crash. However, no mention followed.
Could the CEO have prevented a crash?
To my peers in the trenches, now is a time to collaborate, cheer each other’s successes, and collectively take our industry to the next level.
commented Silbert.
But, as mentioned, some members of his audience alleged that Silbert watched Alameda burn, knowing about the coming crash. One of them was the founder and CEO of the X3 crypto technical analysis platform, @AP_Abacus.
He suggested that “Barry and DCG began to AGGRESSIVELY pressure Alameda to pay off a $2.5B loan outstanding to Genesis.” Notably, the analyst did not provide any proof of his words and promised to “update shortly.”
Some claim Silbert knew about Alameda.
Apparently, Silbert’s “prosecutors” base some of their suggestions on the tweet below. The CEO notes that there are “weak links” in the chain without naming any names. However, even if the allegations are true, one vague tweet is not nearly enough to draw conclusions.
So, did Silbert eliminate competition by simply watching FTX and Alameda’s events unfold? It is unlikely that DCG investors will find out the truth any time soon. Did he “AGGRESSIVELY pressure Alameda” to pay off the alleged $2.5 billion loan? More proof would help dot the i-s and cross the t-s in the case.
For now, current and potential DCG investors should watch the market closely and follow one of 2022’s legacies – not trust a “crypto personality” and do diligent research.
