'We're trying to save crypto from the banks': Circle CEO Allaire

Quick Take

  • Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire said there is $3.3 billion in transit on its way to BNY Mellon from Silicon Valley Bank, which folded last week.
  • The executive spoke during an interview on the Bankless podcast in which he described how Circle had weathered the recent turmoil regarding Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire isn’t buying any narratives which suggests the traditional banking system needs to be protected from crypto. Instead, he believes the opposite to be true.

"Everybody's talking about how we need to save the banks from crypto and right now we're trying to save crypto from the banks,"  said Allaire during an interview with the hosts of the Bankless podcast.

The scrutiny of how traditional banks manage deposits they hold on behalf of crypto companies has intensified in recent days after a run of prominent financial institutions like Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank all shuttered.

Circle is currently in the process of moving $3.3 billion from Silicon Valley Bank to BNY Mellon, said Allaire.


“We’ve got $3.3 billion in transit and we can see in the fed wire system that the receiving bank is acknowledging ‘yes, this is incoming,’” said Allaire. “It hasn’t settled on the fed wire ledger.”

Circle operates the USDC stablecoin, which depegged on news that the company had money held at Silicon Valley Bank. 

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RT Watson is a senior reporter at The Block who covers a wide array of topics including U.S.-based companies, blockchain gaming and NFTs. Formerly covered entertainment at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote about Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and the creator economy while focusing primarily on technological disruption across media. Previous to that he covered corporate, economic and political news in Brazil while at Bloomberg. RT has interviewed a diverse cast of characters including CEOs, media moguls, top influencers, politicians, blue-collar workers, drug traffickers and convicted criminals. Holds a master's degree in Digital Sociology.

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