Tech

Okcoin suspends USD deposits in wake of Signature Bank closure

03/13/2023
Bitcoin Ethereum News

According to a March 13 tweet by Okcoin CEO Hong Fang, the U.S. affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange OKX had no exposure to defunct U.S. tech bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). However, Fong stated that Okcoin’s U.S. dollar wire and ACH deposits have been “immediately paused” due to the regulatory intervention in Signature Bank, Okcoin’s primary partner for customer transactions in dollars. 

On March 12, New York state regulators closed Signature Bank, a major financial institution for fiat-crypto on-ramping, citing a “systemic risk exception” in the wake of SVB’s collapse. In addition to suspending dollar deposits, Fang wrote that “over-the-counter services will be temporarily paused too,” including its quick buy and recurring buy functions. Okcoin also stated that the suspension extends to “crypto transactions by credit card” and “trading USD-crypto trading pairs.”

In response to user inquiries, Fang clarified that “all corporate and all customer funds are safe” and “USD withdrawal not affected. The processing pace will be subject to bank operation.” All crypto deposit and withdrawal functions remain intact, including those of U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins. Furthermore, the suspension appears limited to dollar deposits, as other fiat deposit methods, such as those made in 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.”

The crypto-friendly Signature Bank was a key partner for many crypto firms, including Coinbase, Celsius and Paxos, which have since disclosed that they held balances in the bank. U.S. federal regulators have stated that Signature Bank depositors will receive their balances in full post-shutdown.