Signature Bank Director Says U.S. Regulators Are Against Cryptocurrencies

Claims to be against cryptocurrencies

Former Republican congressman Barney Frank, who sits on the board of directors of Signature Bank, said the bank’s closure sent a strong message that regulators were against cryptocurrencies. expressed his opinion. CNBC, who spoke with Frank, reported on the 13th.

Signature Bank is one of the leading banks serving the cryptocurrency industry. U.S. regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) after it collapsed, but Signature Bank believed it could stabilize its business, people said.

connection: U.S. signature bank closed, impact on virtual currency industry due to successive bank failures

Mr. Frank was involved in the drafting of the Dodd-Frank Act, which was enacted in the United States in the wake of the Lehman shock. The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) closed its signature bank on Thursday, citing the SVB bankruptcy as a way to halt the spread of unrest in the market and avert a financial system crisis.

Regarding this, he argued that although depositors had withdrawn about 1.3 trillion yen (over $10 billion) in response to the bankruptcy of SVB, there was no basis for the bankruptcy. The bank has total assets of about 14.6 trillion yen ($110.36 billion) and total deposits of about 11.8 trillion yen ($88.59 billion) as of December 31, 2022, according to the authorities.

Frank isn’t the only one with this opinion. Ryan Selkis, founder of blockchain analytics firm Messari, argued yesterday that SVB was solvent and its signature bank was sound. And he said he was “targeted by US regulators.”

Silvergate is still solvent, despite an unprecedented 90 day $12 billion liquidation sparked by a corrupt sitting Senator who coordinated a bank run w/ short sellers.

Signature was healthy. NYDFS went rogue in shutting them down, and surprised even the FDIC.

It’s targeted.

— Ryan Selkis (@twobitidiot) March 13, 2023

connection: Virtual currency rebound such as Bitcoin, recession of “credit anxiety” over Silicon Valley banks

NYDFS view

The Signature bank failure is believed to be the third largest in U.S. banking history. Despite its size, the U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), and the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have jointly announced that all signature bank deposits will be protected by the FDIC as a systemic risk exception. stated.

According to overseas media such as “The Block”, NYDFS Supervisor Adrienne Harris explained that cryptocurrencies are not involved in the closure of Signature Bank. The bank has a wide range of clients, she said, not because of any particular industry.