Crypto lending teeters on brink of extinction after Genesis collapse

Crypto lending teeters on brink of extinction after Genesis collapse

The bankruptcy of crypto’s marquee lender, Genesis Global Capital, may be one more blow than the industry can withstand, at least in its current form.

The list of bull-market stars laid low now includes nearly every major player to have captured the public’s attention by offering market-beating returns for the simple act of depositing tokens. Genesis joins BlockFi Inc., Celsius Network and Voyager Digital among firms whose collapse have left countless clients angry and unlikely to risk more money on their daredevil exploits.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Acting as de facto banks, these firms took in assets which they then lent out freely across the market, often to hedge funds who used the borrowed funds to leverage their bets on iffy tokens.

Genesis dished out $130.6 billion of loans in 2021 alone, part of a complex web of interconnected risky trades and toxic loans that helped turbocharge the market, only to spark a cascade of collapses when crypto prices started plummeting last year.

Everyday investors across the globe have also been left nursing billions of dollars in cumulative losses, and now regulators are forcing lenders to either meet the more stringent standards required in traditional