Winklevoss crypto customers to receive triple the value of frozen assets

Customers of the crypto platform Gemini are set to recover over three times the value of their digital assets that were affected by the FTX collapse, a unique outcome for creditors in a bankruptcy situation.

Gemini, the exchange established by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, announced on Wednesday that it has secured a 232% recovery for customers who participated in its Earn lending program. This program, in partnership with a third party, had halted withdrawals during the crypto market turmoil in November 2022.

Over 230,000 Gemini customers lost access to about $940 million in digital assets. Since then, the value of these frozen assets has surged to $2.18 billion due to a rebound in the crypto market.

“We are thrilled to have achieved this recovery for our customers. We understand the difficulties caused by this long process and are grateful for our customers’ continued support and patience,” stated Cameron Winklevoss, president of Gemini.

In February, Gemini agreed to return at least $1.1 billion to Earn program customers and pay a $37 million fine for unsafe practices as part of a settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services.

The latest announcement includes the increased value of crypto, adding over $1 billion to the total recovery amount.

For instance, if a customer had lent one bitcoin in the Earn program, they can now expect to receive one bitcoin back.

When FTX collapsed, causing chaos in the crypto markets, bitcoin’s value plummeted to around $17,500. Now, a year and a half later, one bitcoin is valued at nearly $70,000.

Gemini stated that Earn customers should receive their remaining asset balance within the next 12 months.

Customers of FTX, which was once the second-largest crypto exchange globally, are also expected to be fully reimbursed with interest. This is partly due to the increased value of FTX’s crypto holdings and profitable investments in artificial intelligence that have been liquidated.