Big Three credit rating agency Moody’s has downgraded numerous regional banks in the United States due to weak earnings last quarter and sizable unrealized losses, according to the firm’s Monday note. Meanwhile, banking giants including Bank of New York Mellon (BK.N), US Bancorp (USB.N), State Street (STT.N) and Truist Financial (TFC.N) have been placed on...Read More
Esther Freeman – a 70-year-old Israeli resident who turned a $3,000 BTC investment into over $320,000 in 2021 – has terminated the legal battle with Bank Hapoalim. The latter was unwilling to accept her crypto profits, casting doubts on the source of the funds she used to hop on the Bitcoin bandwagon. Her investment is...Read More
According to recent research by CoinGecko, two-thirds of the 30 biggest global banks by assets under management (AUM) support crypto trading through regulated exchanges. Furthermore, around 74% of the top 50 banks worldwide support crypto trading by connecting to regulated exchanges, the report added. “However, none support retail crypto trading or on-ramping from respective native...Read More
Well-known crypto critic, Senator Elizabeth Warren, won support from Washington-based banking advocacy group, the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), for newly introduced bipartisan legislation that seeks to regulate the crypto industry and eliminate loopholes for illicit activity. Its support has been viewed as a peculiar move because both Warren and the Wall Street banks have hardly...Read More
Societe Generale’s crypto arm – SG Forge – announced acquiring a regulatory license approval as Digital Asset Service Provider from the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF). With it, SG Forge has become the first company to receive a license from France’s financial regulator as a digital asset provider. The DASP license represents the highest level...Read More
The largest banking institution in Russia by assets value – Sberbank – will reportedly enable private investors to buy and sell digital currencies in the following weeks. The entity jumped on the bandwagon a few years ago, attempting to launch several cryptocurrency projects. For one, it sought approval to issue its own digital currency and...Read More
Following Monday’s announcement of lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance, firms both inside and outside of the crypto industry have started polarizing. The civil lawsuit filed against Binance – which the SEC claims is the real beneficiary of Binance.US – has not yet begun. However, companies with exposure to the situation have started taking steps to...Read More
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the largest bank in Australia, announced a temporary decline in “certain” payments to cryptocurrency exchanges as part of newly introduced measures to battle scams in the country. According to an official release, the CBA will decline or hold crypto payments for 24 hours or more. As part of the scam...Read More
One of two crypto-friendly banks that provided much-needed liquidity for the industry – both of which went bankrupt earlier this year – Silvergate Bank, has been ordered to present a concrete plan for the voluntary liquidation they agreed to within the next ten days. Liquidation to Happen ASAP Silvergate first announced plans for voluntary liquidation...Read More
The American boutique investment bank Cowen Inc. is closing its crypto asset unit. It has become the latest financial institution to shy away from digital assets amid a darkening regulatory environment. “Today will be the last day for the team here at Cowen Digital,” the bank stated, according to a May 31 report by Bloomberg....Read More
Binance is reportedly examining a proposal to offer its institutional clients the option to secure their collateral outside the crypto exchange in a bid to reduce counterparty risk. The move comes amidst growing calls from institutional digital-asset traders for a much-needed change after FTX’s dramatic collapse late last year that led to significant losses. Reducing...Read More
Following increased regulatory action from the SEC and other local and global watchdogs, members of the crypto community have been worrying about the industry’s future relationship with the banking sector. Pivot to Europe in The Cards The restlessness surrounding future crypto regulation was amplified following the collapse of both Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank, both...Read More
California lender PacWest Bancorp (PACW) fell over 20% on Thursday after the company revealed it had lost a significant portion of its deposits. This follows a string of US regional bank failures this year that were preceded by similar red flags. Depositors Flee From PacWest Per its quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange...Read More
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana called banks “sophisticated Ponzi schemes” while discussing the US banking crisis that’s claimed multiple crypto-supportive financial institutions in the past two months. The politician also spoke on the state of inflation, which he believes the Federal Reserve will need to bring to at least 8% to cool down. Banks...Read More
A Democratic presidential candidate is pushing against the growing anti-crypto sentiment within his party by blaming regulatory agencies’ “war on crypto” for various bank failures that transpired in March. In recent days, environmental lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr. has spoken out against the Biden administration’s general handling of the ongoing banking crisis, opposing the bailout approach...Read More
Another wave of banking fear swept the markets on Tuesday as stocks for PacWest, Western Alliance, and other financial institutions slid over 20% on the day. This comes shortly after California financial watchdogs took control of First Republic Bank on Monday, of which 84 branches will reopen under JP Morgan Chase. Another Bank Stock Selloff...Read More
First Republic became another American bank to fail this year as all attempts to resuscitate the ailing platform fell short. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has now taken possession of the First Republic Bank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was appointed as the receiver by the Californian financial regulator and...Read More
Analysts at Bernstein Private Wealth Manager think the shaking banking system in the United States could benefit bitcoin adoption and potentially increase the price of the asset. The experts went further, advising people to invest in BTC, which could soon enter a new bull run due to the shaking condition of traditional finance. Weak Banks...Read More
The shares of First Republic Bank have declined to a record low after the lender announced that depositors withdrew over $100 billion in the first quarter. It has been under massive pressure since a series of bank failures in the United States sparked fears of a wider crisis. The private-sector initiatives are being led by...Read More
Austrian cooperative banking company – Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien (RLB NÖ-Wien) – has partnered with Bitpanda to roll out crypto investment services through the latter’s software as a service (SaaS) offering. With this collaboration, RLB NÖ-Wien has become the first major traditional bank in the European Union to move into digital assets. The Partnership Alongside crypto investment,...Read More
First Republic Bank stock (FRC) lost half its value on Tuesday, April 25, following a disappointing quarterly earnings report. The embattled bank was the worst performer on the S&P 500 for the day as investors dumped its shares. Since the beginning of the year, First Republic stock has dumped 93%. The bank has become the...Read More
In a note published on April 24, Standard Chartered analysts predicted that Bitcoin prices will climb to $100,000 by the end of 2024. Analyst Geoff Kendrick noted that the collapse of several U.S. banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate, and Signature, has solidified the case for Bitcoin as a “decentralized, trustless, and scarce digital asset.”...Read More
BlackRock – the world’s largest asset manager – is collaborating with the U.S. government to sell off eleven figures worth of securities tied up with American banks that failed last month. The sale $114 billion sale will include $27 billion worth of securities from Signature Bank, and $87 billion from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Securities...Read More
Adrienne A. Harris – Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) – said the premise that the bank’s ties to crypto-related businesses were behind its closure is “ludicrous.” The financial institution revealed severe operational difficulties last month and was shut down by American regulators to prevent further issues. Crypto Was not...Read More
BTG Pactual – one of Latin America’s largest investment banks – will reportedly launch its own stablecoin, whose value will be tied to the American dollar. The corporation joined the industry years ago by issuing a security token called ReitBZ and introducing a cryptocurrency exchange in Brazil. The Latest Push According to Reuters, Banco BTG...Read More
The insiders of the now-defunct Signature Bank have reportedly sold over $100 million of shares in the years after the bank shifted its focus to attract cryptocurrency companies. According to an analysis conducted by the Wall Street Journal, Signature Bank’s chairman, its former chief executive officer, as well as his successor collectively sold around $50...Read More
The United States banking sector is hesitant to do business with crypto firms following the closures of the nation’s most crypto-supportive financial institutions earlier this month. A collection of industry participants, bank executives, and investors are reporting various instances of banks making crypto partnerships more difficult, from forming lengthy application procedures for such companies to...Read More
The President of the United States – Joe Biden – thinks the turbulence that recently shook the banking sector is not entirely gone. As such, his cabinet is ready to impose further legislative changes to cope with any potential issues in the future. Two of America’s leading banks – Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature...Read More
The notice comes after NYCB’s purchase of most of Signature’s deposits and loans. After Signature was placed in receivership by the FDIC, the process of bidding for its remaining business operations, as well as the branding associated with the company, kicked off. The FDIC’s takeover came shortly after the collapse of both Silvergate and SVB....Read More
The financial watchdogs of Hong Kong will reportedly host a meeting between domestic cryptocurrency businesses and bankers. The initiative could ease financing for the industry as the region seeks to emerge as a global digital asset hub. Crypto firms based in Hong Kong have supposedly received support from leading Chinese banks in the past several...Read More
