Gemini Crypto Exchange Dropped By Heavyweight Bank JP Morgan

Summary:

• JP Morgan will no longer offer banking services to crypto exchange Gemini, CoinDesk reported citing sources familiar with the matter.
• The bank’s decision to cut ties with a crypto business is the latest in the so-called exodus of partnerships between crypto companies and their banking partners.
• Coinbase, another JP Morgan crypto customer, switched from Silvergate Bank to Signature Bank for USD deposits and withdrawals on Coinbase Prime.

Banking juggernaut JP Morgan will no longer offer banking services to crypto exchange Gemini, CoinDesk reported on Wednesday citing sources familiar with the matter. The digital asset trading venue founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss was one of two crypto businesses onboarded as customers in May 2020.

The bank’s decision to cut ties with a crypto business is the latest in the so-called exodus of partnerships between crypto companies and their banking partners. Coinbase, another JP Morgan crypto customer onboarded in 2020, switched from Silvergate Bank to Signature Bank for USD deposits and withdrawals on Coinbase Prime.

FTX’s LedgerX ended its relationship with Silvergate Bank and signed up with Signature bank, as previously reported.

It’s unclear whether JP Morgan’s actions are linked to concerns from the Silvergate saga. Silvergate stumbled into financial uncertainty after dealings with bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. The bank’s management was in talks with examiners from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) on a possible plan to keep the business afloat.

Online commentators have speculated that Silvergate’s financial station could buoy rhetoric from U.S. lawmakers lobbying against allowing the banking system to interact with blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

Gemini Not Stranded

While concerns may be raised over the loss of a major U.S. banking partner in JP Morgan, Gemini has dealings with at least two other banking. State Street and the embattled Silvergate Bank are listed as partners on Gemini’s website.

In other news, the crypto exchange owned by the Winklevoss twins was the top name in Genesis’ list of creditors. Gemini’s claim said Genesis owed over $766 million.