- Cameron Winklevoss has issued a “best and final offer” to Digitial Currency Group Barry Silbert
- The pair have been at loggerheads over an alleged $1.4 billion payment that Winklevoss says DCG owes his company, Gemini
- Winklevoss accused Silbert of “fraudulent behavior” and fostering “a culture of lies and deceit”
Cameron Winklevoss has issued a “best and final offer” to Digital Currency Group Barry Silbert over the $1.4 billion he says it owes Gemini. Winklevoss accused the DCG enterprise of engaging in “fraudulent behavior” and said that Silbert had “fostered and architected a culture of lies and deceit,” making a multi-stage offer to Silbert to pay off the debt, which leaves hundreds of millions of dollars of Gemini customers’ money stuck with DCG.
Earn Update: An Open Letter to @BarrySilbert pic.twitter.com/ErsYpcEjQD
— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) July 4, 2023
Beef Dates Back to November
The Winklevoss/Silbert affair dates back to November 2016 when Genesis, a DCG company, froze withdrawals citing liquidity issues. This left $900 million of funds belonging to the Winklevoss twins’ Gemini platform on Genesis with no obvious way of getting it off. In
January Winklevoss issued his first open letter to Silbert, arguing that Gemini Earn customers “deserve concrete answers” and accusing Silberty of avoiding discussions over “the $900 million that you owe.”
A $630 million payment was arranged from DCG to Genesis which would then be passed on to Gemini but this failed to materialize. In response, Gemini said it was considering a new master claim for $1.1 billion it says Genesis owes it, with a lawsuit in the offing if it wasn’t accepted. This is the offer that Winklevoss has now made, comprising of cash repayments and potential proceeds of various legal proceedings DCG is involved in, such as with FTX/Alameda:
Best and Final Offer pic.twitter.com/r7jyhJyKGg
— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) July 4, 2023
“Reckless and Fraudulent Behaviour”
Winklevoss certainly didn’t beat around the bush when it came to his assessment of Silbert’s actions since the trouble erupted:
Since the day Genesis closed its withdrawal gates, you have never had any intention of finding a global, consensual resolution with creditors and Earn users. And you have never had any intention of doing the right thing and taking responsibility for the mess that you, your companies, and your employees created with your reckless and fraudulent behavior. Instead, you have dedicated the last 8 months to buying time so you can raise money and stiff creditors and Earn users again.
Winklevoss then outlined his version of events, clearly written in an attempt to goad Silbert into either complying or suing, including accusations of fraud and abusing the mediation process.
While it can’t be denied that Winklevoss is doing his best for his customers, Silbert’s intransigence to date won’t give them heart that the DCG head will turn around and comply with the new demands. Instead he is more likely to bury his head in the sand and hope that Winklevoss will result to legal means, which gives him a greater chance of avoiding a massive payout.
