Okcoin Suspends USD Deposits After Liquidation Of Signature Bank

The U.S. affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange OKX had no exposure to collapsed U.S. tech bank Silicon Valley Bank, according to a March 13 tweet from Okcoin CEO Hong Fang (SVB). Fong said that the regulatory action against Signature Bank, Okcoin's main partner for dollar customer transactions, has "immediately suspended" the company's wire and ACH deposits in U.S. dollars.

Following the collapse of SVB, New York state regulators shut down Signature Bank on March 12 for fiat-crypto on-ramping, citing a "systemic risk exception". Fang also stated that "over-the-counter services will be temporarily suspended too," including its rapid buy and recurring buy features, in addition to suspending dollar deposits. The restriction also applies to "crypto transactions via credit card" and "trading USD-crypto trading pairings," according to Okcoin.

Fang emphasized that "all corporate and all client monies are safe" and "USD withdrawal is not affected" in answer to user questions. All cryptocurrency deposit and withdrawal functions, including those of U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins, continue to function as normal. The processing speed will be dependent on bank operation. However, it appears that the suspension only applies to deposits made in dollars because deposits made in other fiat currencies, such as euros, are unaffected.

“Our team are working very hard on alternative channels and solutions in real-time We’ve been through much worse times since our inception. If this weekend has told us anything, it’s the significance of the future that we are building. Our commitment to you hasn’t changed either."

Many cryptocurrency businesses, including Coinbase, Celsius, and Paxos, who have since confirmed that they held balances in the bank, relied heavily on the crypto-friendly Signature Bank as a partner. Federal authorities in the United States have declared that depositors at Signature Bank will get their full balances after the bank closes.