- U.S. regulators offer a bailout to customers affected by SVB and Signature bank collapses.
- Will there be alternatives to these crypto-friendly banks and their payment systems to provide liquidity?
Bitcoin and Ethereum were both up by more than 9% in the last 24 hours retracing their weekend losses and propping up the crypto market. The stablecoins also saw a surge as they regained their peg.
The U.S. regulators were able to take out negative sentiments among investors following the collapse of the crypto banks by offering bailout to depositors.
It should be noted here that Signature Bank and SVB collapsed in just a couple of days from each other. Thus, bringing down the banking and crypto sectors.
Signature was the only viable option for most crypto companies after Silvergate shut its shop and on Sunday the U.S. said adieu to it as well.
Crypto firms reveal their exposure to Signature
Several crypto companies including Coinbase, Paxos, and Celsius have come forward to disclose their exposure to the bank.
“As of close of business Friday March 10 Coinbase had an approximately $240m balance in corporate cash at Signature,” the exchange announced on Twitter.
As of close of business Friday March 10 Coinbase had an approximately $240m balance in corporate cash at Signature. As stated by the FDIC, we expect to fully recover these funds. https://t.co/XY5L7m4RMs
— Coinbase (@coinbase) March 12, 2023
Blockchain company Paxos said (at press time) it held $250 million at the bank while Celsius admitted that Signature held their funds without disclosing the amount.
The companies shared hope that they will be able to recover the funds following the joint statement from different U.S. regulators. “All depositors of this institution will be made whole,” the regulators said in relation to the Signature bank context.
What’s next?
The crypto market, eventually, recovered on 13 March. Most of the cryptocurrencies registered positive gains and investors were seen returning back to their trading activities. However, the question remains- Is this recovery just a calm before the storm?
Crypto companies will now have to transfer their funds elsewhere with the demise of these banks. Circle has already moved its funds from SVB to BNY Mellon and others will soon follow suit.
Notably, the collapse of these lenders will also affect crypto liquidity. The Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) and Signature’s Signet were real-time payment platforms that allowed users to conduct transactions 24*7.
Now that they are gone, investors might have to limit their payments to banking hours unlike earlier. It looks like crypto liquidity will be affected in the absence of these platforms unless an alternate system comes up.
