The famous and top-rated cryptocurrency exchange, Gemini, made headlines in November 2022 for freezing the assets of investors enrolled in the Gemini Earn program. This happened following a complaint by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission against Genesis Global Capital LLC and Gemini Trust Company LLC for offering and selling securities to retail investors without being registered to do so. .
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In the spring of 2023, many investors are still looking to recover their funds from the Gemini Earn program.
How to claim your frozen funds from Gemini Earn
If you have money in Gemini Earn and haven't received any funds, follow these steps:
Get your money back from Gemini Earn: step by step
- Log in to your Gemini account.
- Click on "pending balance".
- Review the main claim form.
- Make sure the amount included on your behalf matches the total sum of your frozen assets.
If you wish to file a claim for amounts greater than your Pending Balance, the Gemini Deadline Notice explains how to do so. You will need to submit a claim form with the type and amount of frozen cryptocurrency, among other information.
It may also be useful to gather detailed records of your crypto stored and traded in your Gemini Earn account and accrued interest.
What is Earn on Gemini?
Gemini Earn was a program that allowed Gemini customers to lend their crypto assets to Genesis. Genesis invested the crypto and then paid the investors interest.
To fully understand how to get your money back from Gemini Earn, it is helpful to review the Gemini Earn program and how it works, as well as the Gemini Genesis lender partner bankruptcy legal process.
Gemini Earn was paying investors up to 8.05% APY on over 40 cryptocurrencies traded on the platform. The Gemini blog promised users, "You can redeem your cryptocurrency from Earn, keep the interest earned, and transfer your crypto to your trading account at any time."
Gemini Earn was an opt-in program, meaning Gemini could not invest your crypto without your express permission.
Is Gemini Earn still available?
In January 2023, Gemini ended the Earn program. In November 2022, Genesis, Earn's lending partner, suspended withdrawals on the interest-earning platform.
What happened to Gemini Earn?
Genesis previously deposited $175 million in FTX. When this trading platform crashed, Genesis lost access to this money. Genesis' parent company, Digital Currency Group, then gave Genesis a cash injection of $140 million.
DCG, it was reported, also owed Genesis $1.7 billion, which is why the lending partner froze assets — it's all related to the FTX crash. Genesis Global Capital has finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which could bode well for Gemini Earn users trying to recover their frozen assets.
Gemini is exploring options and working with legal counsel, financial advisors, and a creditors' committee to return all funds to Earn users.
Is Gemini safe?
The Gemini Exchange platform remains a safe place to invest. According to the Gemini Trust Center, the Gemini Exchange is required to hold capital in excess of customer deposits as part of its licensing through the New York State Department of Financial Services.
Was Gemini Earn sure?
Gemini Earn was a separate program that is no longer in operation and has proven not to be a safe or reliable depository for funds. Gemini Earn and its lending partner Genesis were not registered to invest in crypto on behalf of clients.
Can you lose money on Gemini Earn?
At its peak, investors were earning over 8% APY on their Gemini Earn investments. But many of those funds are now frozen and inaccessible, although former users should be able to recover their funds.
DCG, Genesis and Gemini responses
In January 2023, the DCG Board of Directors recommended that Barry Silbert be removed from office. At the same time, Gemini filed a response in court with additional information regarding the fraud committed by Silbert, DCG and Genesis.
On February 6, 2023, Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss tweeted that Gemini had contributed up to $100 million to compensate Earn users. He added that the company has a "framework in place to execute" when it comes to returning frozen funds.
What if you haven't received your funds?
If you have not yet received your frozen funds from Gemini Earn, they may be frozen for a little longer. Despite Winklevoss' upbeat tweet, the creditors' committee continues to work to maximize recoveries from creditors, according to the Gemini Earn FAQ page.
Users of the Gemini Exchange platform have not been affected by the frozen funds and can deposit, withdraw and trade as usual.
Gemini Earn: Latest Update
There is good news for those who are still trying to recover their funds from Gemini Earn.
On April 11, 2023, Gemini updated its FAQ page to indicate that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has entered a cease and desist order in the Genesis bankruptcy proceeding. Considered a “standard step” in bankruptcy proceedings, it authorizes and directs Gemini to notify all users that the organization is filing a primary claim.
The primary claim preserves Gemini's ability for its customers to recover their assets frozen in the Genesis bankruptcy.
Final grip
If you have not yet been able to recover your frozen funds from Gemini Earn, you can follow the steps above to verify that your request is correct. If not, you can submit a request for correction. After that, you may have to wait a bit, but you can be sure that your funds will be returned to you.
Information is accurate as of April 13, 2023.
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