NY Regulators Say Signature Possession Had Nothing To Do With Crypto

The comments counter former Rep. Barney Frank’s assertion that Signature’s collapse is due to crypto

article-image

PL Gould/Shutterstock.com modified by Blockworks

share

Contrary to recent public statements, the New York Department of Financial Services says its possession of Signature Bank over the weekend had nothing to do with its crypto dealings. 

NYDFS opted to hand over control of Signature to the FDIC because of concerns over the bank’s business operations and its ability to meet client needs, a spokesperson told Fortune on Tuesday. 

The comments counter former Rep. Barney Frank’s assertions. In a series of interviews Monday, Frank, who served as a Signature board member, said the bank’s struggles began during the FTX-fueled run. 

The NYDFS targeted Signature in an effort to make its opinions on crypto clear, Frank — who headed the House Financial Services Committee during the 2008 financial crisis — said.

Despite New York regulators denying that crypto had any role in Signature’s downfall, the current banking crisis could impact industry oversight and ensuing policy, experts say. 

“There is a split in terms of who policymakers say is at fault, leading to a growing partisan divide,” said Ron Hammond, director of government relations at the lobbyist Blockchain Association. “The fear among those in Congress is that this growing partisan push could trickle to other policy priorities of the banking committees that aren’t related to the current crisis. Stablecoins in particular come to mind.”

Plus, Congress’ agenda has just gotten a lot busier, according to Hammond. 

“There is concern the recent actions could push stablecoin legislation to later in the year as well as partisan politics seeping into an area that has been bipartisan from day one,” he said.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

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.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

In 2011, WikiLeaks faced a financial blockade imposed by the US government. It was Bitcoin’s first major test.

article-image

Kado’s founder Emery Andrew spoke to Blockworks about the acquisition and what’s next for the team

article-image

LayerZero’s Bryan Pellegrino chatted with Blockworks about the firm’s next steps and its 10-year runway

article-image

Colosseum co-founder Matty Taylor is seeing “high-performance [Solana] founders showing a lot of interest in private trading technology”

article-image

Executives weigh the growth potential they see in the public stock and private credit/equities arenas

article-image

Players can stake ME, trade tokens and link wallets to climb the leaderboard