According to a Bloomberg report, a small Pennsylvania-based bank has emerged as a top choice for crypto businesses, following the collapse of two other crypto-friendly lenders, Silvergate Capital Corp. and Signature Bank. 

Customers Bank is a Pennsylvania-based bank that was founded in 1997 as New Century Bank. The bank changed its name to Customers Bank in 2011, reflecting its focus on building deep customer relationships.

In recent years, Customers Bank has gained attention for its partnerships with digital asset firms, including exchanges, market makers, and stablecoin issuers. The bank’s payments platform, Customers Bank Instant Token (CBIT), enables crypto clients to move dollars with the same immediacy as the digital asset industry, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The report shows that Customers Bank has become a leading choice for crypto businesses seeking a banking partner following the collapse of Silvergate Capital Corp. and Signature Bank. 

While both Silvergate and Signature Bank were forced to close down due to depositors withdrawing their money during the regional bank turmoil earlier this year, Customers Bank has maintained its position as a facilitator of dollar transactions for crypto businesses.

One of the key factors that set Customers Bank apart from its competitors is its approach to managing risk. Unlike Silvergate and Signature Bank, Customers Bank holds CBIT deposits in US currency, rather than investing them in securities or loans. This ensures that the bank can quickly meet any withdrawal demands, providing clients with the necessary access to their funds when they require them.

Customers Bank also distributes large deposits among multiple banks, a service called insured cash sweep, which helps depositors maximize their Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage, given the standard $250,000 cap on FDIC-insured deposits. This is a crucial feature for crypto businesses, which often hold significant sums of money in secure accounts.

However, despite Customers Bank’s success in the crypto industry, its CEO, Sam Sidhu, has decided to limit deposits on its Customers Bank Instant Token real-time payments platform, or CBIT, which caters to crypto clients, to no more than 15% of its total. At the end of the first quarter, deposits for CBIT held steady at about $2.25 billion, accounting for 13% of the bank’s $17.7 billion total.

Customers Bank’s primary focus is on expanding its payments business and developing deeper customer relationships with other industries, including fund finance, tech, and venture. Sidhu believes that digital assets provide an excellent use case for the bank to showcase its tech capabilities for payments, but it is just one small piece of a broader plan.

While Customers Bank’s success in the industry offers hope for the future of crypto banking, the industry’s banking problem persists, particularly for less established players. According to Diogo Monica, co-founder of Anchorage Digital, there is a need for more alternatives and fiat banks that support crypto players.

What’s more, Customers Bank’s position as a top choice for crypto businesses could bring additional attention from regulators, who are clamping down after warning banks earlier this year of the risks of doing business with the industry. 

Despite this, Customers Bank’s success in the nascent industry offers hope for the future of crypto banking. As the industry continues to grow, other small banks may follow Customers Bank’s lead in partnering with digital asset businesses and providing the necessary services to support their growth.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com 

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