According to Bloomberg, the president of cryptocurrency bank Anchorage Digital said assets under custody rose 80% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter amid increased demand for safer ways to custody assets following a series of cryptocurrency crashes and heightened regulatory scrutiny. Bloomberg reported last week that Anchorage Digital was in final talks to provide custody services to EDX Markets.

Cryptocurrency custodian Xapo Bank will cooperate with stablecoin issuer Circle to provide USDC deposit and withdrawal services. Xapo will provide USDC to US dollar conversion at a 1:1 exchange rate and support USDC transfers. All USDC deposits at Xapo Bank are automatically converted to USD with an annual interest rate of 4.1% on deposits. Xapo stated that it does not provide loan business, and all customer funds will be used as reserves and invested in short-term liquid assets. The bank charges members an administration fee of $150.

Crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Bank will wind down operations in an orderly and voluntary manner in accordance with applicable regulatory procedures, including full repayment of all deposits, and is also considering how best to resolve claims and protect the residual value of its assets, including its proprietary Technology and tax assets. Its general Centerview Partners LLC served as financial advisor, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP served as legal advisor, and Strategic Risk Associates provided transition project management assistance. In addition to Silvergate Bank's decision to cease the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN), all other deposit-related services remain operational while the company is being wound up.

Cryptocurrency custodian Xapo Bank has integrated the Bitcoin-based Lightning Network and has partnered with Lightspark, CoinDesk reported. Users of Xapo Bank can now make instant instant payments for small purchases of up to $100 at any vendor that accepts Lightning Payments. Xapo Bank, led by former Facebook crypto chief David Marcus, sold its institutional business to Coinbase in 2017 to focus on the retail sector.

Regulated cryptocurrency bank SEBA Bank has hired former JPMorgan Chase banker Amy Yu as its Asia-Pacific chief executive as it explores regulatory licenses in Singapore and Hong Kong, where it employs about seven people, and in Singapore, Bloomberg reported. There are about three employees, and Amy Yu said any hiring plans will be in sync with the progress of the permit. Amy Yu also said that SEBA Bank mainly provides advisory services, market research and manages reverse inquiries from its Hong Kong and Singapore offices. Regarding Alameda Research’s previous participation in SEBA Bank’s round of financing, Amy Yu said that it has less than 1% of SEBA’s shares and has no voting rights. The company has no other transactions with Alameda or FTX. Amy Yu previously helped establish JPMorgan Chase's main service department in the Asia-Pacific market, and joined the encryption industry in 2018. At first, she was responsible for global institutional sales at BitMex, and then joined Genesis, which just filed for bankruptcy this year.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) said it has partnered with BNP Paribas, HSBC and RBC Capital Markets to issue the first sterling-denominated digital bond on a private blockchain, Reuters reported. The £50 million ($61.6 million) floating-rate bond is registered on a private blockchain, while a public blockchain mirror record will improve transparency on top of anonymity, the EIB said.

Crypto-friendly bank BankProv stopped offering loans backed by crypto mining rigs and said its digital asset loan portfolio fell 50% in the fourth quarter as some impaired loans were sold and some debtors repaid loans, CoinDesk reported. As of the end of December 2022, BankProv held $41.2 million in digital asset-related loans. Of this, $26.7 million was loaned with cryptocurrency mining machines as collateral.

Metropolitan Bank Holdings Corporation (MCB) has announced its decision to exit the crypto-asset-related vertical. Significant changes in the regulatory environment for asset-related businesses, etc. MCB said it would minimize the impact of exits, with its current four cryptocurrency clients accounting for about 1.5 percent of its total revenue and 6 percent of deposits.

Anchorage Digital, an encrypted bank, has partnered with GMO-Z.com Trust Company, a subsidiary of Japanese financial services and Internet giant GMO, to be approved to launch the regulated Japanese Yen stablecoin GYEN, which is issued based on Ethereum and whose reserve assets are deposited in separate accounts of FDIC-insured banks , Chainalysis assists GMO in monitoring its transactions and risk assessments to detect and prevent fraudulent activity.