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'Bitcoin Jesus' Says He Has the Money to Pay Ailing Crypto Lender Genesis
Roger Ver, an early Bitcoin advocate who now advocates for the Bitcoin Cash blockchain, has been accused in court by Genesis of failing to settle cryptocurrency options, with $20.9 million of damages sought.
Roger Ver, the blockchain-industry veteran once known as “Bitcoin Jesus” thanks to his early evangelism for the bitcoin cash (BCH) cryptocurrency, said Wednesday that he has “sufficient funds” to make good on payments allegedly owed to the crypto lending firm Genesis Global.
The issue, according to Ver, is the failure by Genesis to provide the requested assurances about its finances.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Ver provided the comments to CoinDesk in a Telegram chat – and also posted them on Reddit and Twitter – after he was accused by a unit of Genesis Global this week in a New York state court filing of failing to settle cryptocurrency options trades. The unit, GGC International, seeks at least $20.9 million in damages related to the matter.
Genesis Global filed for bankruptcy protection last week. (Genesis is a unit of Digital Currency Group, which also owns CoinDesk.)
“I have sufficient funds on hand to pay Genesis the sums allegedly owed, and I’m happy to pay what I actually owe,” wrote Ver, who now advocates for the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. “However, Genesis was required by our agreement to remain solvent – as Genesis can’t ask its clients to play a ‘Heads clients lose, tails Genesis wins’ game.”
According to Ver, he asked Genesis in June “for assurances of their solvency.”
“In return, Genesis provided me with financial information that has been called into question by recent events,” Ver wrote. “When I asked Genesis to clarify the financial information they had provided me they refused, and instead chose to file suit.”
Ver said he “hoped to obtain this information from them quickly and amicably, as I value our relationship, but it appears I will now be forced to get to the bottom of this in discovery.”
Asked why any concerns about Genesis’ finances would affect his willingness to pay the amount owed, Ver said he wouldn't “be commenting more at the moment.”
A Genesis press representative didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.
Bradley Keoun
Bradley Keoun is CoinDesk's managing editor of tech & protocols, where he oversees a team of reporters covering blockchain technology, and previously ran the global crypto markets team. A two-time Loeb Awards finalist, he previously was chief global finance and economic correspondent for TheStreet and before that worked as an editor and reporter for Bloomberg News in New York and Mexico City, reporting on Wall Street, emerging markets and the energy industry. He started out as a police-beat reporter for the Gainesville Sun in Florida and later worked as a general-assignment reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, he double-majored in electrical engineering and classical studies as an undergraduate at Duke University and later obtained a master's in journalism from the University of Florida. He is currently based in Austin, Texas, and in his spare time plays guitar, sings in a choir and hikes in the Texas Hill Country. He owns less than $1,000 each of several cryptocurrencies.
