Genesis Global Trading Review [2024]: Crypto Trading for Accredited Investors

With digital assets and concepts like the blockchain becoming more mainstream, some investors are looking for brokers and exchanges to help them manage a growing portfolio or facilitate large trades. Genesis Trading is one of the companies that offer access to crypto trading, lending, and custody.

Here’s what you need to know about Genesis crypto to decide if this digital asset trading platform is a good fit for your financial needs.

What is Genesis Global Trading?

Genesis Global Trading was founded in 2013 and launched the first over-the-counter trading desk in the United States that year. An over-the-counter (OTC) market is decentralized and does not involve assets listed on a traditional exchange. Assets are simply traded between two individuals.

Launched initially by SecondMarket as a Bitcoin trading division, the company is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group. The founder, Barry Silbert, launched Digital Currency Group with funding from a number of firms, including Mastercard and Bain Capital.

Genesis Global Trading offers exchange services, lending, and asset custody. The current CEO, Michael Moro, ushered Genesis crypto through a partnership with BitGo, allowing for off-exchange crypto trading for those who use BitGo for the custody of their crypto assets.

In addition to being the first over-the-counter Bitcoin trading desk, Genesis is only the fifth firm to receive a BitLicense in New York, allowing them to broker various crypto trades for high net worth and institutional investors. Before you decide that Genesis is the right place for you to start investing money, it’s important to note that you must be an accredited investor to use their services.

Keep in mind that despite all that, Genesis may be facing financial troubles. The company cut its workforce by 30% and paused its lending services in January 2023, and may file for bankruptcy or explore options that can support its business operations.      

What does Genesis Global Trading offer?

Genesis Global Trading is a prime brokerage, offering access to a crypto market, the ability to borrow in crypto assets, and storage for your digital assets away from the internet. There is no mobile app, although it’s relatively easy to access your account online. It’s one of the best brokerage accounts for high net worth crypto traders

It’s important to realize, though, that Genesis crypto services are only available to institutional investors and accredited investors. In order to be considered an accredited investor, as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), you need to have an annual income of at least $200,000 (or $300,000 if married), a net worth of over $1 million, or hold certain securities licenses or meet other requirements.

Due to the relative newness of digital assets and the price volatility involved, trading cryptocurrencies should be approached with caution. They might be best for those with a higher risk tolerance, who can trade with money they can afford to lose.

Now let’s look closer at the three services Genesis provides: trading, lending, and custody.

Trading

The Genesis crypto exchange facilitates spot transactions, which happen live in the market, and derivative trading. It’s possible to use Genesis to access a wide variety of investors and exchanges to connect with someone interested in completing a transaction. Not only that, but it’s possible to get customized trading derivatives that can help you manage your portfolio risk. Available cryptocurrencies include:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Ethereum Classic (ETC)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Ripple (XRP)
• Zcash (ZEC)

Lending

Genesis Global Trading claims to be the world’s largest digital asset lender. It’s possible to borrow for a number of purposes, including speculation and hedging, as well as for working capital.

Genesis lends in Bitcoin, and US Dollar Coin (USDC), a tokenized cryptocurrency based on the US dollar. USDC is considered a stablecoin because it’s based on another currency — usually not a digital asset — and the price is stable.

Additionally, it’s possible for those with digital currencies to lend them to Genesis and earn a yield.

Custody

You can keep your assets with Genesis Global Trading, as they offer cold storage. This is a way of storing your crypto assets in a digital wallet that isn’t constantly connected to the internet. Private keys used to access the wallet are never online.

Genesis uses cold storage and other technologies to provide secure transactions and storage. On top of that, Genesis is insured for vault risk and digital asset crime, so you can be reasonably sure the assets held in custody by Genesis Global Trading will be protected.

Pros and cons of Genesis Global Trading

Pros

• Regulated by the SEC and FINRA
• Has a digital currency license issued by the state of New York
• Makes it easy to trade digital assets, as well as borrow them

Cons

• Must be an institutional or accredited investor
• High transaction minimum

Who can open an account with Genesis Global Trading?

To open an account with Genesis Global Trading, you must either be an institutional investor or an accredited investor. As a result, you need to be able to show documentation that substantiates your claims.

Genesis has not updated its accredited investor definition to match with the newest guidelines issued by the SEC, so you still need to have an annual income of at least $200,000 (or $300,000 if married) or a net worth of at least $1 million to open an account as an individual.

Genesis Global Trading might be best for those interested in accessing digital assets in a high-touch and customized way. In addition to offering cryptocurrency trading, it’s also possible to borrow digital assets and securely store your digital assets. However, it’s important to have a high risk tolerance and make sure that these alternative assets truly fit into your portfolio strategy.

How much can you earn with Genesis Global Trading?

How much you earn with Genesis Global Trading depends on the market and how digital assets perform in the future. Any type of investing comes with risk, and digital assets are relatively new, so it’s difficult to determine how they’ll perform. What you earn depends on the asset, the timeline, and your risk tolerance.

With Genesis, your earnings will also depend on the spreads involved (the difference between the buy and sell prices). It’s important to regularly review your portfolio performance and make changes as needed based on returns.

FAQs about Genesis Global Trading

How to open a Genesis Global Trading account

To open an account with Genesis Global Trading, you need to verify that you’re an accredited investor or an institutional investor. You can contact Genesis through their front-page form, indicating your interests.

You can also register with Genesis by providing your name, email, and a password. They’ll send a verification email, and then you authenticate with Google. After that, you can see what services are available and begin the process of sharing your information, including supporting documentation about your financial situation so you can prove you’re accredited.

Once you’ve done that, it can take 24-48 hours after submitting your application to receive a decision about opening an account. As soon as you have an account, you can begin setting up the process to trade, borrow or keep your assets in cold storage.

Other investing platforms to consider

If Genesis Global Trading isn’t the right platform for you, there are others. Indeed, for beginners, particularly those who aren’t accredited investors and fairly new to how to buy cryptocurrency, you might have more luck with a different platform. If cryptocurrency isn’t your preference, you might want to investigate investing in other types of assets by checking out our lists of the best investment apps and best brokerage accounts.

For example, Robinhood offers an intuitive trading platform without charging any fees. For beginners who want to start trading with as little as a dollar, it can be a good place to get started. Additionally, Robinhood offers exposure to altcoins like Dogecoin, which is becoming more popular. Robinhood is a little more limited in that it doesn’t offer as many cryptocurrencies as Genesis crypto exchange. However, you can still access the more popular coins like those in the Bitcoin and Ethereum families. Cryptocurrency beginners might be better off trading cryptos with apps like Robinhood.

Coinbase can be a good choice for those who want to keep their cryptocurrency assets in a hot wallet attached to the internet and make direct exchanges between coin pairs. For example, in addition to buying cryptos with US dollars, it’s also possible to use one cryptocurrency to buy another. On top of that, you can send your coins to a wallet located off Coinbase, and vice versa. For example, I’m able to move my cryptocurrency coins from the hot wallet at Coinbase and send them into my cold wallet.

Disclosure: The author uses Coinbase and Robinhood to manage crypto positions. She has positions in Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum, which are all listed in this article.

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