The New York-based bank’s weekend shutdown came two days later Another bank collapse, and California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and less than a week after the closing of another California bank, Silvergate Bank. All three of the now-defunct banks were known as crypto-friendly financial institutions.
A class action lawsuit was filed against Signature Bank in February, alleging that the bank knew about — and facilitated — the “now infamous FTX scam.” Specifically, the lawsuit accuses Signature Bank of knowingly and allowing “the integration of FTX clients’ funds within its own blockchain-based payments network, Signet.”
Barney Frank, Signature Bank board member and former Democratic congressman who co-authored Dodd-Frank ActHe also indicated that the acquisition was motivated by an anti-crypto impulse, telling CNBC that Signature Bank was solvent — and that regulators stepped in anyway to send a message.
“I think part of what happened is that the regulators wanted to send a very strong anti-crypto message,” Frank told CNBC.
However, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) denied that cryptocurrency had anything to do with its decision to shut down Signature Bank, instead saying it was due to a “crisis of confidence” in the bank’s leadership.
According to Reuters, bidding for the acquisition of Signature Bank is scheduled for Friday, March 17.
The FDIC did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
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