Judge Sean Lane of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court extended a mediation session between cryptocurrency lender Genesis and its creditors on Monday as disagreement emerged over the role Digital Currency Group (DCG) will play in the lender’s reorganization. The time of mediation, which was supposed to finish last month, will now end on June 16. On May 1, Judge Lane appointed a mediator to lead negotiations between the bankrupt lender and its creditors after prior attempts to do so failed. Gemini stated that continuing the negotiations may cause individuals most affected by the bankruptcy to suffer more financial loss. In November of last year, Gemini halted withdrawals from accounts connected to its cryptocurrency loan program Gemini Earn after Genesis stopped operating as a result of the multi-billion dollar failure of one of its borrowers, the crypto exchange FTX. Customers of Gemini Earn, who have suffered as a result of Genesis’ financial difficulties, also spoke during the court to express their displeasure with the judge’s choice of postponing the case’s mediation session. Judge Lane disputed their claims that the length of the mediation process would cause the judicial proceedings to drag on. Additionally, he refused demands to begin payment negotiations with the insolvent cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which claims Genesis owes it $3.9 billion. Instead, he allowed the parties extra time to design a new plan that would specify how thousands of Genesis creditors would be paid.
Zodia Custody, a supplier of cryptocurrency storage, and Blockdaemon, a provider of infrastructure, have reached an agreement to make crypto staking available to institutional clients. Since the Ethereum blockchain completed its switch to a proof-of-stake mechanism in September, interest in staking has skyrocketed. The U.K.-based international bank Standard Chartered’s Zodia Custody claims to be the first bank-owned custodian to provide staking services to institutional clients. Zodia Custody is supported by Northern Trust and SBI Holdings. Blockdaemon launched a wallet service in April to assist financial institutions and cryptocurrency custodians in managing their assets without having to trust them to a third party.
