NAIROBI (Coinchapter.com) – The United States banking industry faced a blow with another bank failure as Republic First Bank became the nation’s fourth regional lender to collapse since 2023, reigniting concerns about the stability of traditional financial institutions.
The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities seized Republic First Bank, a Philadelphia-based lender with $6 billion in total assets and $4 billion in deposits as of January 31, on April 26, 2024. This marks the first US bank failure of the year, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) stepping in to arrange the transfer of substantially all deposits and assets to Fulton Bank.
Republic First’s 32 branches across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York will reopen under the Fulton Bank name by the start of next week. The FDIC estimates the cost of this failure to its deposit insurance fund at approximately $667 million.
Banking Woes Continue
Republic First Bank is the fourth US regional bank failure since March 2023. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank within months of each other caused significant tremors in the traditional financial sector. This latest seizure underscores the ongoing challenges many smaller banks face in the current economic landscape.
The string of bank failures has reignited discussions about the stability of the banking industry. As of January 31, 2024, Republic First held approximately $6 billion in assets and $4 billion in deposits. FDIC insurance will protect depositors up to the legal limits.
Crypto Community Reacts to Bank Failure
Republic First Bank’s closure sent shockwaves through the crypto community on social media. Many users questioned the traditional banking system’s security. This latest failure follows a string of collapses in 2023 – Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank. The repeated bank closures have shaken trust in the traditional financial sector.
Marius Martocsan, CEO of Zesh, expressed his preference for Bitcoin following the news. Pillage Capital highlighted the narrative potential of bank failures for cryptocurrency adoption. Crypto commentator Randi Hipper questioned how many banks need to fail before people realize the benefits of self-custody in crypto.
Crypto trader Pillage Capital claimed, “Republic First Bank failure is worth a look since bank failures are the best possible narrative we can get for crypto.” Randi Hipper, a crypto commentator with 87,100 X followers, questioned, “How many more need to fail before people start to be their own bank?”
