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Farmington State Bank will abandon plans to develop banking services related to cryptocurrencies and cannabis, the company announced Thursday.
The bank also said it would stop using the Moonstone Bank brand it developed for such “innovation-driven” pursuits.
Farmington’s announcement did not name the troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX, but the strategic reorientation is “due to the impact of recent events in the cryptocurrency industry and the consequent changes in the regulatory environment. It reflects change,” he said.
Last January, Moonstone secured an investment of $11.5 million from Alameda Research, a trading firm founded by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, according to Forbes.
FBH, a company owned by French banker (and co-creator of “Inspector Gadget”) Jean Chalopin, acquired Farmington State Bank in 2020. Chalopin is also chairman of Bahamas-based Deltec Bank, where he secured a $50 million loan from FTX. Forbes reported earlier.
Farmington, a 135-year-old bank headquartered in the Washington state town of about 150 residents, said last week it began notifying its customers in the cryptocurrency industry that it plans to close their accounts. The publication added that the bank asked customers to stop transactions and transfers, the publication reported. Holdings in other financial institutions.
Farmington said in an announcement Thursday that “returning to its role as a community bank will be seamless for local customers of the Farmington Community Bank, with no changes or interruptions to service.” “The bank has consistently committed to safe and sound practices to keep its balance sheet liquid and customer deposits safe and fully accessible.”
The bank was pushed out of obscurity in November when The New York Times profiled it. Since then, it has been the subject of concern with lawmakers and regulators warning of contagion from the FTX bankruptcy.
Farmington is not the first bank to exit the cryptocurrency industry. Metropolitan, a former partner of bankrupt cryptocurrency firm Voyager Digital, announced earlier this month that his commercial bank would be exiting the sector. Crypto-rich Silvergate Capital announced earlier this month that it would cut his 40% of staff after the FTX bankruptcy forced him to sell assets at a loss to cover about $8.1 billion in withdrawals.
Silvergate confirms that crypto-related deposits fell 68% in the fourth quarter. Silvergate and another of his FTX investors, Signature Bank, have secured billions of dollars in advances through the Home Loan Bank System, a consortium that provides liquidity to financial institutions, Forbes reports. I’m here.
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