Signature Bank’s customers received a notice to close their cryptocurrency accounts by April 5.
Owners of crypto deposits in Signature Bank are required to close their accounts on a mandatory basis. If they fail to withdraw their funds in any way by that date, the accounts will be closed by the federal regulator. This is reported by Bloomberg.
According to the publication, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) sent a notice to bank customers on March 28, giving them a week to close their accounts. If the regulator forces the closure, a “refund” check will be mailed to the customer’s mailing address listed at registration. Therefore, the FDIC representatives strongly advise Signature’s customers to make sure their mailing information is up-to-date.
All of Signature Bank’s assets were previously bought by New York Community Bancorp, Inc. through the FDIC and placed under the management of Flagstar Bank, an affiliate of the company. But the deal didn’t involve Signature’s crypto assets, whose fate has only now become clearer.
Moreover, the deal left the Signature Signet blockchain platform, which provided real-time payment processing with no fees or restrictions, unaffected. No information about the regulator’s plans for Signet has yet been announced.
It’s worth noting that members of the cryptocurrency community noted the illegality of Signature Bank’s closure by the U.S. authorities and called the “voluntary liquidation” of crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank “a crackdown against the crypto industry.” The FDIC’s decision to force the closure of about $4 billion worth of Signature’s crypto deposits indirectly confirms this view. At the same time, the Chinese authorities are creating favorable conditions for cryptocurrency companies in Hong Kong, allowing them to open accounts at local branches of the country’s largest banks.
