Genesis, one of the largest cryptocurrency brokerages for institutional investors, said it loaned a record $50 billion of assets in the fourth quarter to borrowers including crypto funds and other financial firms.
Genesis, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, said loan originations for 2021 totaled $131 billion, nearly seven times higher than 2020. Borrowers such as crypto funds use the assets to short digital currencies, hedge investments, or invest in yield-generating platforms. At the year end, its lending desk saw a wave of deleveraging as prices on most cryptocurrencies fell, the New York-based company said in its fourth-quarter report.
