Circle says $3.3 billion of USDC reserves are with Silicon Valley Bank

Circle, the crypto payments firm behind stablecoin USDC, confirmed late Friday evening that $3.3 billion of the cash backing its coin remain with Silicon Valley Bank.

Circle, which had early tweeted that Silicon Valley Bank was among its six banking partners managing about 25% of the total reserves of USDC, was criticized by “Crypto Twitter” for not being more transparent about its exposure to the popular tech banker. In the wake of its original tweet, USDC de-pegged from $1, falling around 2% on certain decentralized finance platforms.

“Following the confirmation at the end of today that the wires initiated on Thursday to remove balances were not yet processed, $3.3 billion of the ~$40 billion of USDC reserves remain at SVB,” Circle said in a tweet.

“Like other customers and depositors who relied on SVB for banking services, Circle joins calls for continuity of this important bank in the U.S. economy and will follow guidance provided by state and Federal regulators.”

Silicon Valley Bank, which ranks many tech companies and startups among its clients, became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis on Friday, and the FDIC seized control. Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse came shortly after crypto-friendly Silvergate said it was liquidating. Circle also counted Silvergate as a banking partner.