Circle was 1% of SVB’s assets. First there was a run on the (traditional, regulated) SVB because VCs caught a whiff of desperation and told all their portfolio companies to exit. Next came the run on USDC because $3 billion was locked inside SVB.
Contagion spreading to non-mega banks because the federal government told them to buy “risk free” treasuries and mortgage backed securities. Rates go up and suddenly if they need cash the bonds must be sold at a loss.
To blame a problem caused by central banking on crypto is absurdity to the highest level.
I've pointed this out a few times in other threads but it's worth repeating.
SVB had just recently reported that they had no liquidity issues and did not foresee any need to sell any of their assets at a loss.
Then Thursday morning the announced that they had, in fact, liquidated some of their assets at a loss.
Your bank is supposed to be zero risk and essentially as good as cash. Any sign that your bank might have liquidity problems significantly raises that risk from 0. In that case it is beyond prudent to try to move out of that bank fast.
I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next, and wouldn't be surprised if there were ill intentions behind some of those meetings. However this bank run was rational and does not need to be explained away by any conspiracy to organize a bank run.
