US Bank collapse — Was crypto being targeted?

The latest episode of Decentralize with Cointelegraph unpacks whether U.S. regulators are targeting the crypto ecosystem through closure of SVB and Signature Bank.

Signature Bank in particular served the likes of Paxos Trust and Celsius and other major crypto firms that suffered as a result of the decisions taken by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and New York State Department of Financial Services.

Meanwhile Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) reportedly handled over $5 billion of funds for a handful of cryptocurrency venture capital funds including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Paradigm and Pantera Capital in recent years.

USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle was directly affected by the closure of SVB, with $3.3 billion tied up in the bank after its closure. Cryptocurrency markets were directly affected, with USDC temporarily losing its peg to the US Dollars for a number of days.

Several high profile commentators in the U.S. have suggested that there is mounting pressure on banks to stop serving cryptocurrency-related businesses. Meanwhile a spokesperson from the FDIC has refuted claims that the future of sale to Signature Bank would not require divestment of crypto activities.

Related: TradFi and DeFi come together — Davos 2023

Cointelegraph business editor Sam Bourgi and journalist Gareth Jenkinson break down the major talking points from the U.S. Banking collapse fiasco and discuss whether the cryptocurrency industry is being targeted by regulators across the country.

The closure of major U.S. banks by regulatory institutions has been a significant talking point this week, with several high profile cryptocurrency firms hamstrung by decisions taken in America.

Check out this and other episodes from Cointelegraph’s Decentralize with Cointelegraph podcast on Cointelegraph’s podcast page, Spotify and Apple Podcasts and your other favorite platforms.