Silbert Wanted to Be Crypto’s Rockefeller. Now He’s Under Siege

Barry Silbert, the founder of Digital Currency Group, is far from crypto’s most colorful executive.

In an industry rife with billionaire impresarios, die-hard evangelists and outright fraudsters, the 46-year-old chief executive has the look and bearing of a middle manager at a regional bank. His inoffensive demeanor — and relatively long tenure in Bitcoin — served him well as he drew funding from companies like SoftBank and built a sprawling web of businesses that touch virtually every corner of cryptocurrency.

That reach put him at the center of a storm battering crypto lenders like DCG’s Genesis Global Capital ...