Circle was SVB’s biggest client: report

The stablecoin issuer’s SBV holdings were backstopped by the FDIC

June 23, 2023 12:21 pm

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire | Eóin Noonan for MoneyConf (CC license)

Turns out that, at least for a time, stablecoin issuer Circle was reportedly the single largest asset-weighted customer of Silicon Valley Bank.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed earlier this year, with the venture capital banking favorite going down as one of a series of overextended US banks that met their demise amid mounting withdrawal pressure.

Citing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Bloomberg reported on Friday that Circle was the top depositor at SVB. Circle does business as Circle Internet Financial.

Loading Tweet..

Bloomberg reported that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. told the publication that the document in question was inadvertently released in its unredacted form.

An FDIC spokesperson declined to comment to Blockworks, and a spokesperson for Circle did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Circle held about $3.3 billion at SVB around the time of the bank’s collapse in March, and the USDC issuer then pledged to “stand behind USDC.” The document obtained by Bloomberg states the Circle held the top spot in a ranking of both the top 10 depositors and the top 10 accounts — suggesting that Circle maintained more than one account at SBV.

The FDIC stepped in to insure all SBV deposits after the bank went under, not just deposits under the federal agency’s typical $250,000 threshold.

Circle’s USDC stablecoin had depegged from its one-to-one dollar mooring when SBV headed for bankruptcy, raising crypto industry questions as to the extent of the damage from ties to SBV and other banks that went on to fail, including Signature and Silvergate.

Circle in the aftermath started doing due diligence on and tapping a number of new prospective banking partners, including striking an agreement with Cross River Bank, to facilitate the usage and transfer of USDC and the company’s other products.

Dollar-pegged stablecoins booked a relatively quick recovery after their initial demooring. Ample is crucial to ensuring stablecoins adhere closely to the price of the asset they are pegged against.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.

Tags

Newsletter

The Breakdown

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2026

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

buy tickets learn more

recent research

Research

Kinetiq Protocol: From LST Infrastructure to HIP-3 Deployer

Kinetiq has established itself as Hyperliquid's dominant liquid staking protocol, holding 82.5% of LST market share with $610M in TVL. The protocol is now expanding beyond its kHYPE staking core into higher take-rate verticals: iHYPE for institutional custody rails, Launch for HIP-3 capital formation, and Markets for builder-deployed perpetuals. We view Markets, launching Jan. 12, as the highest-potential product line given its mechanically scalable, activity-linked unit economics. Near-term revenue remains anchored by kHYPE's KIP-2 fee schedule (~$1.6M annualized), while Markets provides embedded optionality if HIP-3 economics normalize post-Growth Mode. KNTQ's setup is relatively clean: zero insider unlocks until November 2026, 6.2% buyback yield from staking revenue, and cleared airdrop overhang. Risks center on unproven Markets execution, declining kHYPE TVL despite ongoing incentives, and competition from Hyperliquid's native initiatives.

by Shaunda Devens