Bitcoin endured a small dip in early May after it was revealed the drama surrounding First Republic Bank reached a new peak. Right now, the sentiment is that the bank could be the final monetary institution that crashes and burns following a long streak of banks that did the same. The streak includes names like Signature, Silvergate, and Silicon Valley.
First Republic Bank Has Fallen
Early last month, regulators acquired First Republic Bank and circulated most of its assets and deposits to institutions like JPMorgan Chase. This marks the third major bank failure this year, and it’s making a lot of people think the days of the 2008 Great Recession are on their way back.
Alex Thorn – head of firmwide research at Galaxy – commented in a recent interview:
It’s unclear whether the banking crisis narrative can continue to be a boon for bitcoin. Overall, the market lacks clear positive near-term catalysts, with supply issues overhanging bitcoin… Bitcoin accumulation by small addresses is outpacing issuance, and we expect Ethereum staking to increase, each of which provides a supportive supply narrative. Outside of crypto-native factors, we expect a back-of-the-year macro environment to be characterized by tightening, recession, and an expanding multipolarity in the global economy, all of which can be supportive of gold and bitcoin.
The banking crisis in America and Europe has been two-fold in many ways. On the one hand, it’s put a lot of people in a state of fear that another big financial crisis like the one we witnessed 14 or 15 years ago is coming again. At the same time, it can be argued that the current baking crisis has brought about a new “safe haven” status for bitcoin and many of its digital cronies.
As a result, we are seeing currencies like bitcoin rise like they never did the previous year, and there are more people backing these assets, supporting them, and investing in them as a means of keeping their wealth stable during this present period of financial and economic strife. Thorn continued with:
Bitcoin and ether started 2023 inorganically cheap, allowing for plenty of room to move higher off a low-base effect. A widening banking crisis became evident in March, and the contrast with bitcoin’s transparent and decentralized nature provided a further leg up for bitcoin, while Ethereum’s successful Shanghai upgrade provided a catalyst for Ethereum.
Trouble A-Brewing for Standard Banks
First Republic Bank reached a troublesome point after its stock shares fell by more than 80 percent over the course of just a few days. The dips had a lot to do with lagging deposits in Silicon Valley Bank.
That institution was “notoriously” tied to crypto, which is why so many regulators blamed the digital currency arena for the fall of the latter firm.
