Failed tech bank SVB held over $5B for prominent crypto VCs: Report

According to a study that began circulating connected March 11 successful the aftermath of the illness of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), salient blockchain task capitalists (VCs) person implicit $6 cardinal worthy of assets held by the now-defunct fiscal entity. These see $2.85 cardinal from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), $1.72 cardinal from Paradigm and $560 cardinal from Pantera Capital.

A16z presently holds progressive investments successful projects specified arsenic Alchemy, Sky Mavis and Yuga Labs, and was antecedently an capitalist successful cryptocurrency speech Coinbase. Paradigm has invested successful projects specified arsenic Compound, Cosmos and Uniswap. Meanwhile, Pantera Capital holds stakes successful projects specified arsenic 1inch, Ankr and Zcash.

The report, compiled by Castle Hall owed diligence and extracted from United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings, is simply a point-time disclosure of the VCs’ assets held successful custody by SVB. It does not see updates specified arsenic caller withdrawals, deposits oregon transfers aft the clip of disclosure. In addition, portion the said firms are salient investors successful the crypto space, not each its assets held by SVB are utilized successful crypto investments.

SVB, a important fiscal lender servicing task superior firms and tech companies, was shut down by California regulators connected March 10. At the time, it was the 16th largest slope successful the U.S., with implicit $212 cardinal successful assets. The origin of the illness was, apparently, a failed leveraged stake connected U.S. treasury bonds that led to $1.8 cardinal successful losses connected its $21 cardinal portfolio aft the U.S. Federal Reserve repeatedly raised involvement rates this past twelvemonth — sharply driving down the prices of bonds. 

Despite the comparatively tiny loss, a situation of assurance ensued, starring to tens of billions of dollars of redemption demands successful a mates of days. The institution reportedly has $74 cardinal near of longer-term U.S. Treasurys, which it has yet to liquidate to conscionable redemptions. Circle, the issuer of the fashionable USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, presently has $3.3 cardinal worthy of deposits stuck successful SVB.