Barry Silbert, the once-rich crypto venture capitalist, is now broke. The CEO of DCG was once worth over $3 billion, but now his debts outweigh his net worth. After SBF and DO Kwon, is Barry next?
The woes of Barry Silbert
Barry Silbert is an acclaimed crypto investor credited for founding the Grayscale Trust. Apart from that, he also created Genesis Global, a subsidiary company of the DCG.
Barry now finds himself deep in a debt of $2 billion. In a letter to investors, Barry disclosed that “DCG currently has a liability to Genesis Global Capital of ~$575 million, which is due in May 2023,”
there is a $1.1 billion promissory note due in June 2032. The promissory note is payable to Three Arrows Capital on behalf of Genesis Global Capital.
DCG also owes $350M in loans to a small group of lenders, the top of which is Eldridge.
Barry also reported to investors that the company accrued $800M in revenues in 2022. However, it is not clear how much the profits were.
DCG has invested in numerous companies in the crypto world, including Coinbase, FTX, and Blockstream, in addition to over 200 other companies.
“The value of DCG’s outstanding liabilities is greater than the fair market value of its assets in the current market environment…the current value of Silbert’s 40% stake in DCG to be approximately $0.”
Forbes
Barry invested in Ethereum Classic (ETC) for the Ethereum Classic Trust in 2016, and the assets are estimated to be worth $100 million currently, assuming no one else invested in the trust.
Aside from that, Silbert also states that he owns about 16,000 BTC ($175,000 at the time), which he bought for an average price of $11 back in 2012 for a total of $175,000. That is $250M by today’s Bitcoin price.
$250M added to $100M barely scratches a dent in his company’s mammoth debt. The Winklevoss twins are hot on Barry’s neck, urging him to repay them the $900 million loan Genesis took from Gemini Earn – by Jan 8, 2023.
If Barry used all this wealth to pay off the debts, he would remain penniless. The state of Barry’s financial siege is further seen in the massive layoffs in Genesis and reports of a possible filing for bankruptcy.
If Genesis files for bankruptcy, it will result in the liquidation of the Grayscale Trusts. This would be catastrophic for Bitcoin and the cryptomarkets as Grayscale holds over 600,000 BTC.
