Genesis Winds Down its US Spot Crypto Trading Operation

Genesis joins a number of other market makers scaling back crypto spot trading in the US.

Market maker and trading firm Genesis is shuttering Genesis Global Trading (GGT), its US-focused spot crypto trading business, later this month.

“This decision was made voluntarily and for business reasons,” said a Genesis spokesperson in a statement to Unchained. “We are working closely with regulatory authorities to coordinate an orderly discontinuation of services.”

The news was first reported by Coindesk, citing a letter sent to clients. The New-York based subsidiary will close its over-the-counter trading services on Sept. 18. All remaining open accounts will be closed by Sept. 30, according to Coindesk’s report.

GGT holds a virtual currency BitLicense with New York State’s Department of Financial Services and is also registered as a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), according to the company’s website.

Late last year, the lending unit of Genesis, known as Genesis Global Capital, filed for US bankruptcy protection following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. At the time of the filing, Genesis’s owner Digital Currency Group (DCG) said Genesis’s trading operation would continue unhindered.

GGC International Limited (GCCI) will continue to run its spot and derivative trading services, said a Genesis spokesperson. This subsidiary is a British Virgin Islands company, wholly owned by Genesis Bermuda Holdco Ltd, according to its website.

Genesis is not the only market maker scaling back crypto trading operations in the US. The Block recently reported that GSR, Wintermute and Jump Crypto were all making “conscious efforts” not to trade on US venues. The moves come as US  regulators crack down on centralized exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase. Prominent tokens from blockchain networks such as Solana, Polygon and Cardano have been listed as securities in recent cases filed by regulators.

Plus crypto trading activity is also dwindling amid the bear market, which impacts market maker’s profits. A report from on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant showed that the number of bitcoin on exchanges is at a five-year low, while Bloomberg reported that crypto trading volume for the second quarter dropped to its lowest level since 2019.

Genesis Trading has traded over $117 billion in spot volume in over 100 digital assets, per its website.