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Crypto firm Circle hit by Signature Bank closure

Crypto firm Circle hit by Signature Bank closure
Representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

By Akriti Sharma

(Reuters) – Cryptocurrency firm Circle‘s boss on Sunday said the firm would no longer be able to process minting and redemption through Signature Bank after it was shut by New York state and would handle settlements through BNY Mellon.

Circle, the company behind stablecoin USD Coin (USDC), plans to line up a new transaction banking partner with automated minting and redemption, possibly as early as Monday, Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Circle said in a tweet.

State regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank on Sunday, just two days after California authorities shuttered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), in a collapse that roiled global markets and stranded billions of dollars of deposits.

“With the closure of Signature bank announced tonight, we will not be able to process minting and redemption through SigNet, we will be relying on settlements through BNY Mellon,” said Allaire.

In light of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, Allaire said all deposits from SVB were secure and would be available when banks opened on Monday morning in the United States.

“100% of USDC reserves are also safe and secure, and we will complete our transfer for remaining SVB cash to BNY Mellon,” Allair added.

USDC lost its dollar peg and slumped to an all-time low on Saturday before recovering most of its losses after Circle assured investors it would honor the peg despite exposure to failed Silicon Valley Bank.

Circle said in a tweet on Friday it had $3.3 billion of its $40 billion of USDC reserves at Silicon Valley Bank.