Circle's USDC Reserve Exposure and Potential Risks

Circle's latest audit report reveals that the company's exposure to the US banking system stands at nearly $9 billion, with its reserves held by a number of regulated financial institutions, including SVB, BNY Mellon, and Silvergate. However, recent events such as the shutdown of SVB and Silvergate's decision to shut down its crypto bank arm have raised concerns about potential risks for Circle and its stablecoin USDC.

Timeline of Usd-coin

USDC, the stablecoin tracing the USD, is under immense pressure as users rush to convert to other assets, including BUSD by Paxos and USDT by Tether Holdings. USDC Has De-pegged As USDC's market cap rapidly shrinks, primarily because of mass exits, there has been a de-peg.

Circle's $3.3 billion worth of USDC reserves held at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) have not been processed, raising concerns over the stability of the cryptocurrency. This follows the disclosure that 20% of Circle's USDC reserves were held in several financial institutions, including the recently bankrupted Silvergate and the now-shuttered SVB.

Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), was unable to withdraw $3.3 billion of its $40 billion reserves from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), leading to a sell-off that caused the stablecoin's value to drop below its $1 peg. Circle initiated a wire transfer to remove the funds from SVB as the FDIC-insured bank was about to shut operations, but the transfer was not wholly processed, leaving $3.3 billion of USDC reserves with SVB.

Circle's announcement that Silicon Valley Bank failed to transfer $3.3 billion of its USDC reserves led to a significant sell-off, causing the stablecoin to depeg from the U.S. dollar. Investors who tried to cut their losses by exchanging USDC for other stablecoins, such as USDT, faced exorbitant prices.

Stablecoin issuer Circle disclosed late Friday that around $3.3 billion of its $40 billion USDC reserves remained at Silicon Valley Bank. This comes after the high-tech lender's share price dropped precipitously in response to a run on deposits by nervous consumers.

Just a day after covering Silicon Valley Bank stock (NASDAQ: SIVB) 60% dip after it announced it was raising funds to cover a loss it made after selling securities at a loss, the SVB closure is causing shockwaves in the crypto market.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has caused worry in the crypto industry, especially for investors who use stablecoins like USDC and USDT. Let's see how this affects these stablecoins. USDC and SVB Circle, the company behind USDC, had $3.3 billion or 8% of its reserves at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) before its collapse.

USD Coin (USDC/USD) has fallen below $0.90, sharply depegging after Circle confirmed exposure to Silicon Valley Bank.   The cryptocurrency news this Saturday also sees major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum struggle with selloff pressure near $20,000 and $1,400 respectively. USDC falls under $0.

On Friday (March 10), Californian regulators closed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) — due to a capital crisis and a bank run — and placed it under the control of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). SVB has $175 billion in deposits, 89% of which is uninsured.

On Friday, two top cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, announced they would suspend USDC conversions temporarily while the repercussions of Silicon Valley Bank's closure were assessed.