Genesis CEO Michael Moro steps down from role effective immediately

Quick Take

  • Genesis Trading CEO Michael Moro is set to leave the firm after seven years; just over six were spent as CEO. 
  • The firm confirmed to The Block that it will cut 20% of its staff to meet “strategic priorities.”

Genesis Trading's chief executive officer Michael Moro is no longer with the cryptocurrency firm, according to a release shared on Wednesday. 

Effectively immediately Michael Moro is stepping down as CEO of Genesis trading, according to Wednesdays release. While Moro will continue to advise the company through the transition, the firm's COO Derar Islim has been appointed interim CEO from today.

In addition to Moro's departure, Genesis announced that Tom Conheeny, former SAC Capital and Point72 asset management president, will consult for the firm as a senior advisor, supporting Islim on the company's overall strategy, as well as advising on trading, lending and risk teams. 

When asked about further cuts, Genesis told The Block, "we have reduced headcount by 20% as we align our organization to our strategic priorities." The firm went on to say the strategic priorities include advancing its business excellence and overall infrastructure including in areas such as risk, compliance, and technology.

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The appointment of Conheeny and concerted effort to address risk and compliance appears to be a direct response to the firm's recent high profile losses. Genesis lent $2.36 billion to failed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) – having taken on Genesis' liabilities the Digital Currency Group (DCG) made a $1.2 billion claim against 3AC.

Michael Moro said in a series of tweets on July 6 that the company’s loans to 3AC had a weighted average margin requirement of over 80%, which 3AC had been unable to meet, prompting Genesis to sell its collateral. He went on to say that Digital Currency Group – which owns the crypto lender – had assumed certain Genesis liabilities to ensure it has the capital “to operate and scale” its business going forward.

This story has been updated to reflect new details on the company's job cuts and further details on the losses incurred from its loan to 3AC


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About Author

Adam Morgan is a reporter covering cryptocurrency, financial markets, and economics – anything from price movements, earnings reports, and inflation to the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decisions and everything in between. Adam is based in London.