As state officials closed Signature Bank on Sunday to “protect depositors,” Signet, a real-time payments platform popular with institutional crypto clients, will continue to operate, a source told CoinDesk. Signature Bank’s assets were transferred to Signature Bridge Bank, a new FDIC-run temporary organization (FDIC).
Signet, a proprietary blockchain-based digital payments network, launched on January 1, 2019. In 2020, Fireblocks joined with the service to safeguard digital asset transfer, storage, and issuance. This week, crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank voluntarily liquidated. « (SEN). Silvergate’s collapse took SEN with it, leaving Signature Bank’s Signet platform as one of the only 24/7 crypto banking platforms. Even though a source told CoinDesk that Signet is still operating, Signature’s Sunday closure seems to dash such aspirations.
“With all of the deposits and nearly all of the assets of former Signature Bank, the bank will continue to take care of its clients, providing a full suite of loan, deposit, and banking services,” stated new Signature Bridge Bank CEO Greg D. Carmichael in a press release. The release omitted Signet. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, a Signature Bank client, said Signet cannot create and redeem tokens. Allaire stated BNY Mellon settlements would be used. “
CoinDesk queried Signature Bridge’s source about Allaire’s Sunday tweet and Monday’s press statement stating business as normal. “This tweet came out last night, before our statement today that Signature Bridge Bank is open for business,” the insider added.
Signet “looks like it’s theoretically working,” Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov told CoinDesk.
Coinbase (COIN) also told CoinDesk that it’s business as usual. “As reported on Twitter, Coinbase continues to operate as usual,” said Coinbase Senior Manager of Corporate Communications Natasha LaBranche. “We want USDC:USD conversions 24/7/365.”
Coinbase hasn’t responded to CoinDesk’s Signet questions since Signature Bank’s collapse. The exchange’s support page cites Signature Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Cross River Bank, and Pathward Bank as FDIC-insured banking partners (previously known as MetaBank).
“Although we have trust in our bank partners, we do have contingency plans and duplicate payment rails to ensure we could continue to service our clients and offer them access to their cash kept with Coinbase if we experienced changes with our bank partners,” the Coinbase website adds.
