Group items tagged

Binance said Signature Bank will only handle user transactions of more than $100,000 as of February 1, 2023. According to Binance, this is the case for all of Signature Bank's crypto exchange clients, and only its Signature Bank customers are affected. An earlier story from AsiaMarkets.com said that this limit applied to all banks. Also, Binance said that only 0.01% of its average monthly users are serviced by Signature Bank, but those customers would still be able to use their credit or debit cards to buy or sell cryptocurrencies. Also, SWIFT-based transfers would remain in operation for non-USD bank transfers, and the change wouldn't impact its "corporate accounts."

Binance will temporarily suspend U.S. dollar deposits and withdrawals as of February 8th. However, only 0.01% of the exchange's monthly active users leverage US dollar bank transfers, and the move applies only to non-U.S. customers who transfer money to or from bank accounts in dollars. Binance US, a unit of the company that's regulated by the US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), is not impacted by the suspension. The suspension is likely due to issues with its bank partner Signature Bank, which said last month that it would stop processing crypto SWIFT transactions under $100,000.

Some U.S. crypto firms are looking for bank accounts offshore. Sygnum in Switzerland and Bank Frick in Lichtenstein have seen an increase in requests to open accounts, and industry sources have pointed to SEBA Bank in Switzerland, FV Bank in Puerto Rico and Jewel Bank in Bermuda, EQIBank in Dominica, as well as Tether and FTX-tied Deltec in the Bahamas, as options for U.S. dollar-based banking. However, only crypto companies that are regulated and have proper compliance and governance will likely be able to access non-U.S. banks.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the entire US banking sector following the events around Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate Bank. "While these three banks were unique in their focus on crypto and venture capital/private equity - areas of non-bank finance that grew quickly during easy monetary policy - it is increasingly evident that other US banks are also facing ALM strains... Some US banks also have demonstrated weak governance and oversight of ALM risk."

Digital Currency Group (DCG) is trying to find new banking partners for portfolio companies following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate. Santander, However, CoinDesk reports that Bridge Bank, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, BankProv, Bridge Bank, Mercury, Multis, Series Financial, and Western Alliance are still willing to connect with crypto firms. On the other hand, those banks may restrict some services for crypto firms, for instance, brokerage and money market services and the ability to wire money to third parties.