Crypto firm Circle reveals $3.3 billion exposure to Silicon Valley Bank

(Reuters) – U.S. cryptocurrency firm Circle has $3.3 billion of its $40 billion of USD Coin reserves at the collapsed lender Silicon Valley Bank, the company said in a tweet on Friday.

After startup-focused SVB collapsed Friday, the biggest bank failure since 2008, the announcement by the stablecoin company comes as a shock to investors and companies alike.

Traders were on alert this week in anticipation of any signs of contagion in financial markets and beyond due to troubles for SVB or crypto-focused Silvergate. This week, Silvergate announced plans to cease operations and voluntarily liquidate.

Circle, based in Boston, said last week that it had made a move. “small percentage” USDC Reserve Deposits at Silvergate are transferred to other banks partners.

Circle tweeted on Friday that USDC and Circle continue to operate as normal while it waits for the outcome of SVB’s receivership. Several crypto companies, however, took to Twitter to deny any exposure regarding SVB’s collapse.

Binance CEO and chief executive said that they had no exposure in a tweet. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino was also quoted.

Paxos, a stablecoin issuer, and Gemini, a crypto exchange, tweeted that they have no relationships with SVB.

(Reporting by Rishabh Jiswal in Bengaluru; Editing By William Mallard