Crypto exchange Coinbase, crypto lender Celsius and stablecoin issuer Paxos are among the crypto companies with funds reported to have ties to the now-shuttered Signature Bank.
Crypto-friendly Signature Bank was shut down by New York regulators on March 12 along with the United States’ Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to “protect the US economy” as they claimed the bank posed “systemic risks.”
Crypto exchange Coinbase tweeted on March 12 that it has about $240 million in company funds in Signature which is expected to fully recover.
At the close of business on Friday, March 10, Coinbase had a balance of approximately $240m in corporate cash on Signature. As the FDIC said, we expect to fully recover the funds. https://t.co/XY5L7m4RMs
— Coinbase (@coinbase) March 12, 2023
Stablecoin issuer and crypto company Paxos also stepped forward, tweeting that it has $250 million held in the bank, but added private insurance that covers the amount not covered by the standard FDIC insurance of $250,000 per depositor.
Paxos currently has $250M in Signature Bank and has private deposit insurance that exceeds the cash balance and limits of each FDIC account. Seeking personal deposit insurance is part of a conservative approach to managing customer assets that exceed FDIC insurance limits.
— Paxos (@PaxosGlobal) March 12, 2023
Celsius Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, a body representing the interests of account holders in bankrupt crypto lender Celsius, added Signature Bank “holds some funds” but did not disclose the amount.
Today the US government announced the closure of Signature Bank where Celsius held some funds. All depositors will be made whole, per US Gov. Celsius and UCC are evaluating the situation and will provide further updates. Announcement here: https://t.co/v5GSvTL7JY
— Celsius Official Committee for Unsecured Creditors (@CelsiusUcc) March 12, 2023
He added that “all the depositors will be made whole.”
While Signature Bank serves many companies in the crypto industry, companies with no exposure are stepping up to eliminate the fear of exposure associated with it.
Robbie Fergusonco-founder of Web3 game development platform Immutable X and Mitch LiuThe cofounder of the media-focused blockchain Theta Network separately tweeted that the two companies had no exposure to Signature.
related: Biden vowed to hold SVB accountable, Signature collapsed
Crypto exchange Crypto.com was also reported to have no funds in the bank via a March 12 tweet by CEO Kris Marszalek.
https://t.co/pFc4Pz9nFR has $0 exposure to Signature Bank. https://t.co/TG2h7HyXE9
— Chris Crypto.com (@kris) March 13, 2023
The chief technology officer of stablecoin company Tether, Paolo Ardoino, also tweeted Tether’s non-exposure to Signature Bank.
# connect has no exposure to Signature Bank.
— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) March 12, 2023
The announcement of Signature Bank’s forced closure is in line with other banking-related announcements by US regulators.
The Federal Reserve said the FDIC has been approved to take action to protect depositors in Silicon Valley Bank, a tech-startup-focused bank that is experiencing liquidity problems due to a bank run that spread contagion to the crypto sector.
The Fed also announced a $25 billion program to ensure banks have enough liquidity to cover their customers’ needs during the turmoil.