June 30 (Cointime) - The Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP), an emergency lending program introduced by the American central bank in March to support banks and other depository firms during the banking crisis, has reached a record level of $103.08 billion in loans for the week ending June 28. Despite attempts to reassure investors that the banking crisis is over, the Fed's shadow liquidity is propping up risk-taking behavior across markets, according to market analyst Joe Consorti. The BTFP peak has come in the same week that the Federal Reserve announced its banking stress test results, passing the top 23 lenders in the country. German's Bundesbank may also need a bailout for losses on bonds acquired as part of the European Central Bank asset-purchase programs.

The recent banking crisis in the US has highlighted the difference in stability between big Wall Street banks and smaller banks. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank had a negative impact on US banking stocks, but some investors saw it as an opportunity to buy at low prices. Meanwhile, the crypto market is experiencing a downturn as regional banks appear less fragile and the US Fed's rate hike decision looms. Popular investor Michael Burry has invested in distressed banks, predicting a market bottom scenario in March 2023. 

Billionaire Bill Ackman has warned that “We are running out of time” to fix the problem that led to the collapses of regional banks.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has revealed in a board presentation by the Division of Supervision and Regulation that 722 banks reported unrealized losses exceeding 50% of their capital at the end of the third quarter of 2022. The presentation, released to the public in April, is dated Feb. 14. It highlights the impact of raising interest rates on certain banks and the Fed’s supervisory approach to address issues at these banks.

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano (ADA), has warned of the potential for another financial crisis similar to the 2008 crisis as US banks continue to collapse this year. In an interview with Fox Business, Hoskinson explained that the traditional banking model is becoming outdated, while cryptocurrencies have demonstrated resilience in the face of challenging macroeconomic conditions. He highlighted that the combined assets of banks that have failed so far in 2023 amount to $540 billion, compared to $373 billion during the 2008 crisis. Hoskinson argued that the banking business model is crumbling and expressed concerns that the "too big to fail" mentality could lead to even larger financial institutions. He also criticized the US for lagging behind other regions in implementing reasonable cryptocurrency regulations, warning that the US risks losing crypto companies to other countries with more favorable regulatory environments.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s role in Silicon Valley Bank’s attempt to raise funds in March is under review by US governmental agencies, which are looking into the failed transaction that helped push the US regional-banking system into turmoil.

Bitcoin's dominance rate has reportedly surged amid a banking crisis in the US. The cryptocurrency's dominance rate, which measures Bitcoin's share of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization, has risen to over 50%, its highest level in months. The surge in Bitcoin's dominance rate is believed to be driven in part by concerns over the US banking system, which has been experiencing a shortage of cash due to a combination of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. Investors are reportedly turning to Bitcoin as a safe-haven asset amid the uncertainty in the traditional financial system.

Here is a discussion about why Bitcoin, a decentralized digital currency, could be the solution to our fiat banking crisis and fractional reserve system failure that we are currently having in the world.

Switzerland's financial regulator, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), has found the emergency plans of two of Switzerland's major banks, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) and Postfinance, to be insufficient. FINMA is not certain if the two banks will be able to continue to operate in case of a crisis. ZKB's emergency plan is not yet ready to implement as the bank has not reserved sufficient capital for recapitalization, while Postfinance "must realign its emergency recapitalization strategy," according to FINMA. The two banks are among Switzerland's five "systematically important banks," along with Credit Suisse, UBS, and Raiffeisen. The assessment is based on their crisis planning documents submitted in 2022 and evaluated at the end of the year. It does not take into account the merger of Credit Suisse and UBS.

Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder and CEO of Gemini, has accused US regulators of double standards in their handling of the First Republic Bank crisis, claiming that if it had been a crypto bank it would have been “assassinated weeks ago”. Three Republican members of the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee have called for further information on possible coordinated efforts taken against crypto companies based in the US. The advisors to First Republic Bank will now try to coax larger US banking institutions into providing more financial aid, as the government has refused to take the bank into receivership. (Cointelegraph)