Genesis Prime: We’re Just Getting Started
Our Latest Acquisition
Today, we announced that Genesis has acquired Vo1t, an institutional-grade custodian based in the UK. Vo1t combines secure cold storage with cybersecurity best practices to provide best-in-class protection for digital assets. They have an outstanding team that will bring significant security, financial, and market expertise to the Genesis team. We’re absolutely thrilled to have them on board.
But why would Genesis acquire a custodian? Because it is the latest step in our journey: to build the preeminent prime brokerage in the digital currency ecosystem — a one-stop-shop for trading, lending, and securing digital assets for financial institutions.
The digital currency marketplace is maturing at a rapid pace. Financial institutions — large and small — are entering the industry every day and they want a prime broker that can be a trusted, regulated partner to help them navigate an industry that is unfamiliar and volatile. Integrity, experience, and an unwavering commitment to top-notch client service and operational excellence have been trademarks of Genesis since day one.
We’ve taken a methodical approach to growing our business. In crypto, a lot of people say they’re going to do something…but never deliver. When we enter a new market or develop a product, we move forward with the knowledge and principles that have worked for us for the better part of a decade.
“Genesis started the first digital asset trading desk back in 2013. Since then they’ve been a consistent market leader.”
Bobby Cho — Partner, CMS Holdings
Our Journey
So how did we get here? Genesis has been quietly laying the foundation for years. In early 2013, the Genesis team was running a successful trading desk for illiquid securities when DCG CEO Barry Silbert first suggested we explore BTC trading.
Many of our friends and business associates thought we were crazy when we launched the first US OTC bitcoin trading desk, but we believed there was real opportunity in this industry. We initially conducted only a handful of trades per day, and few traditional market participants were interested. But within a year, we were full-time crypto — and eventually grew into one of the preeminent digital asset trading firms in the world.
In 2018, we expanded our product offering and launched the first institutional-focused digital asset lending business, Genesis Capital. We followed the same methodical, incremental path that we paved with our trading business — we applied our market expertise and began with a few small loans with trusted counterparties. Over the next two years, we became the premier lending firm in the industry with more than $6 billion in originations to date.
“[Genesis] has a history and a level of execution that’s unique to the sector … [they apply] best practices from traditional markets to digital assets, providing new levels of professional functionality.”
Brian Kelly — Founder & CEO, BKCM
But that was only the beginning. We bolstered our technology, legal, risk, compliance, and operations teams with unparalleled talent. We invested in our technology infrastructure and developed solutions that improve the client experience. We expanded our global presence. We acquired Qu Capital, a quantitative investment and research firm that integrated with the existing technology team to provide faster exchange connectivity, improved order routing, and advanced execution tools. We became the first trading and lending firm to incorporate state-of-the-art multi-party computation (MPC) technology that eliminates the need for private keys — this is now quickly becoming an industry standard.
In short, we’ve worked hard to get to the forefront of this industry.
Why Now?
Through it all, we maintained a singular focus on our most important asset: our clients. Financial institutions, trading firms, family offices, asset managers, miners, and high-net-worth individuals will all benefit from a fully integrated approach — a singular, fully regulated platform that we’re building for trading, lending, custody, and more.
“Prime brokerages are a critical part of the traditional financial market infrastructure. With their new prime services offering, Genesis will help bring more professionalism and expertise to the digital asset industry. Their platform will help streamline processes, provide new levers for sophisticated traders … reduce counterparty and settlement risk, and help institutional investors maintain compliance with regulations.”
Tushar Jain — Managing Partner, Multicoin Capital
There’s been a massive gap in the marketplace and Genesis Prime will be well positioned to fill it. In the coming weeks and months, you’ll hear a lot more about what we’re building, including an integrated client interface and additional technology solutions. We’ll be launching a derivatives trading desk and adding capital introduction capabilities for hedge funds, quant funds, asset managers, and family offices. We’re also growing our international team with new offices in London and Singapore.
I’m proud to lead this global team that has emerged as a trading and lending powerhouse with billions of dollars in trades and loans every month. We’ve made significant strides but have only scratched the surface of what’s possible, and I’m excited for the next phase of our growth — Genesis Prime.
Stay tuned. We’re just getting started.
Michael Moro
Chief Executive Officer
