Crypto Firm Genesis Block Ceases Trading Services Amid FTX Contagion: Report

Hong Kong-based crypto services firm Genesis Block said on Friday it would cease over-the-counter (OTC) trading services in wake of contagion risks from the now-bankrupt FTX exchange, according to a Reuters report.

"We have ceased trading, as we don't know which counterparties would fail next, so we would rather close out all our positions to regain some of our liquidity," chief executive Wincent Hung told Reuters this week.

OTC trading, also known as off-exchange trading, is done directly between two parties, without the supervision of an exchange.

Genesis Block also asked customers to withdraw their funds and the company will not accept new customers. It was once Asia's biggest bitcoin (BTC) ATM operator.

A Genesis Block official was previously a director in FTX Hong Kong but resigned from the directorship this month. FTX Hong Kong was one of the about 130 FTX-affiliated companies backed by Sam Bankman-Fried that has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, as previously reported.