A leader in the cryptocurrency industry, Barry Silbert is the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), a collection of five companies that concentrate on various segments of the digital currency market. The subsidiaries of DCG are CoinDesk, a media and research platform; Genesis Trading, a trading and lending firm; Grayscale, an asset management firm; Foundry, a mining and staking firm; and Luno, an exchange and wallet platform. Through these businesses, Silbert aims to accelerate the development of a better financial system that leverages the potential of blockchain technology and digital assets.
In addition to being a business owner, Silbert is also an avid investor in the cryptocurrency space, having backed over 200 startups in 35 countries. Some of his notable investments include Coinbase, Kraken, Circle, Chainalysis, Etherscan, and many others. Silbert is also known for being one of the earliest adopters of Bitcoin (BTC), having bought his first bitcoins in 2012. He subsequently launched DCG using the proceeds from selling his online marketplace SecondMarket to Nasdaq in 2015.
One of Silbert’s most significant contributions to the cryptocurrency industry is Grayscale Investments , which enables investors to access various digital assets through its trust products. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which holds over 650,000 BTC as of September 2021, is Grayscale’s flagship product. GBTC allows investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without having to buy or store it themselves. GBTC is also the first digital currency investment vehicle to attain the status of an SEC reporting company.
Grayscale also has other products that follow the performance of other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and more. In addition, Grayscale has launched several diversified products, such as the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund, which invests in a basket of the largest digital currencies by market capitalization. As evidenced by its growing assets under management (AUM), which reached over $40 billion in August 2021, Grayscale’s products have attracted significant institutional and retail demand.
Another notable initiative by Silbert is Foundry, which was launched in 2020 to provide financing and advisory services to the digital asset mining and staking industry. Foundry aims to empower miners and stakers with the tools and resources they need to build decentralized networks and secure blockchains. Investing over $100 million into mining equipment and operations in North America, Foundry has become one of the largest Bitcoin mining investors in the region. Foundry also offers institutional-grade custody solutions for miners and stakers through its partnership with Coinbase Custody.
Silbert’s vision for DCG is to leverage the potential of blockchain technology and digital assets to create a better financial system. Not only a store of value, but also a catalyst for social change and economic empowerment are what he considers cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to be. On social media platforms like Twitter, where he regularly shares his insights and opinions on the cryptocurrency industry, he has shown his support for Bitcoin.
Barry Silbert, the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), is facing a bankruptcy case that stems from the failure of one of his subsidiaries, Genesis Global Capital, a crypto lending and trading firm. Genesis Global Capital was unable to repay its creditors, including Gemini Trust Co., a crypto exchange and trust company owned by the Winklevoss twins, and filed for bankruptcy in January 2023. Gemini Trust Co. sued DCG and Silbert in July 2023, accusing them of fraud and deception.
The Gemini Earn program, which allowed Gemini customers to earn interest on their crypto deposits by lending them out through Genesis Global Capital, is the source of the dispute between Gemini Trust Co. and DCG. When Genesis Global Capital froze withdrawals in November 2022 due to its exposure to the collapse of FTX , a crypto exchange that went bankrupt, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Gemini customer assets were trapped. DCG and Silbert lied about Genesis Global Capital’s risk management practices and vetting process of counterparties, according to Gemini Trust Co.
DCG and Barry Silbert millionaire filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in August 2023, arguing that Gemini Trust Co. failed to properly allege fraud or knowledge of fraud by DCG or Silbert. They also claimed that a “character assassination campaign” against DCG and Silbert was engaged in by Gemini Trust Co. and the Winklevoss twins. The US District Court for the Southern District of New York still has the case pending.