Genesis Global Trading fined $8M, loses its NY crypto license over anti-money laundering compliance failure

The New York Department of Financial Services announced on Friday that Genesis Global Trading, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), will pay an $8 million penalty and surrender its crypto license following an investigation that uncovered significant shortcomings in the company’s anti-money laundering and cybersecurity programs.

Genesis, a cryptocurrency market-maker and brokerage firm, was found to have failed to maintain an effective compliance program for anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act requirements. Additionally, the company did not file adequate Suspicious Activity Reports, which are essential for flagging specific transactions to law enforcement, Reuters reported.

In response to these findings, NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris said, “Genesis Global Trading’s failure to maintain a functional compliance program demonstrated a disregard for the Department’s regulatory requirements and exposed the company and its customers to potential threats.”

As part of the penalty, Genesis will surrender its “BitLicense,” a regulatory requirement for cryptocurrency companies in New York, which mandates compliance with know-your-customer, anti-money laundering, and capital requirements. Genesis has held a BitLicense since 2018.

The news comes after another subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), crypto lender Genesis Global Capital, filed for bankruptcy last year, which was unrelated to Genesis Global Trading. The bankruptcy came in the aftermath of the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. It’s worth noting that Genesis Global Capital did not possess a BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

DCG was also the parent company of the crypto publication outlet CoinDesk before it was sold to institutional digital assets exchange Bullish. The transaction proved to be a lucrative move for DCG founder and CEO Barry Silbert who made a substantial profit from his initial $500,000 purchase of CoinDesk in 2016.