Barney Frank, a board member of Signature Bank and former member of the US Congress, believes that the government had “no objective reason” to force his company into bankruptcy last Friday. Instead, Frank saw the authorities’ actions as an attempt to send a “very strong counter-message” against crypto currencies.
In a phone interview with CNBC, Frank said that Signature Bank’s customers withdrew $10 billion from the company in a similar panic to the bank run after Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) closed on Friday. Despite the situation improving on Sunday, regulatory bodies took similar actions against Signature Bank.
Many digital currency companies believe that the official actions against stablecoins, hedging products, and crypto-friendly banks in recent months are a deliberate attempt to drive the industry out of the country, a conspiracy called “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”
At a time when crypto currencies need to uphold reliable financial systems, these official actions may affect the industry’s reputation and make many companies look for alternatives to crypto banks.
