Circle reveals US$3.3bil exposure to Silicon Valley Bank

Circle reveals US$3.3bil exposure to Silicon Valley Bank

The start-up focused lender collapsed yesterday, stranding billions of dollars.

SVB disclosed plans this week to wind down operations and voluntarily liquidate. (AP pic)
BOSTON:
US cryptocurrency firm Circle has US$3.3 billion of its US$40 billion of USD Coin reserves at the collapsed lender Silicon Valley Bank, the company said in a tweet yesterday.

The stablecoin company’s announcement comes after start-up focused SVB collapsed yesterday in the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis, roiling global markets and stranding billions of dollars belonging to companies and investors.

Traders have been on guard this week for signs of contagion in the financial sector and beyond from troubles for SVB and crypto-focused Silvergate, which this week disclosed plans to wind down operations and voluntarily liquidate.

Boston-based Circle said last week it had moved a “small percentage” of USDC reserve deposits held at Silvergate to its other banking partners.

Circle said in another tweet yesterday that it and USDC continue to operate normally while it waits to see how SVB’s receivership will affect its depositors, while several crypto companies took to Twitter to deny any exposure to the collapsed SVB.

The chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange Binance said in a tweet yesterday it had no exposure, as did Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.

Stablecoin issuer Paxos and crypto exchange Gemini tweeted they do not have any relationships with SVB.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.