Bank Failures & Crypto Collapse - #Bitcoin Emerges As 'North Star'
Over the last 2 weeks, the global financial system has faced its biggest crisis since the Lehman dominoes started to fall.
First Republic has experienced a serious confidence crisis, characterized by deposit flight that continues despite an injection of $30 billion in deposits last Friday. First Republic has been downgraded twice by S&P; and its share price has dropped by nearly 87% in March so far.
In addition, three banks have closed their doors: Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley bank, and Signature Bank.
In that same period, Deutsche Bank notes that, although the crypto winter is far from over, Bitcoin "could be emerging as a 'north star'."
It has been a year full of major events for the crypto ecosystem.
From the beginning of 2023, the SEC has made efforts to crack down on the crypto market, charging several key players as well as proposing an extension to federal custody requirements to cryptoassets.
The effect of FTX’s bankruptcy continues to weigh on the space, with crypto lender Genesis filing for bankruptcy on January 20, and a key bank for crypto players Silvergate closing its doors on March 8. SVB has likewise collapsed, with significant ripple effects seen in the collapse of the crypto-friendly bank Signature Bank, which was previously home to the crypto central payments processing platform Signet.
