Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank Closes, Fulton Bank Takes Over 32 Branches 

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced on Friday, April 26, the closure of Republic First Bank with its 32 branches to reopen on Saturday under the Fulton Bank. The FDIC announcement that US regulators closed the Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank sparked heated debate among the crypto community, which was the first banking failure witnessed this year.  

Republic First Collapse Trigger Crypto Movement

The news by FDIC triggered a slight tumble for Bitcoin and other altcoins, with the memories of the 2023 banking crisis fresh in their mind. Zesh chief executive Mairus Martocsan revealed on Friday, April 26, post the sinking of the Republic First Bank. The web3 enthusiast and entrepreneur expressed disbelief in the news, informing his followers of his preference for Bitcoin. 

Martoscan disbelief was backed by a pseudonymous crypto trader identified as Pillage Capital. The trader informed the X followers on an April 26 tweet urging people to look at the Republic First Bank. The trader added that bank failures offered the best narrative for the crypto community. 

Crypto analyst Randi Hipper asked her 87,100 followers how many bank failures they needed before starting their bank. 

The FDIC news came after the Department of Banking and Securities at Pennsylvania (PA) seized the Republic First. The seizure announced earlier on April 26 confirmed the appointment of FDIC as the receiver. 

The Friday statement conveyed by the FDIC confirmed that the agency would assume nearly all the deposits. Also, FDIC would acquire the assets previously owned by the Republic Bank. 

The Republic First had, in a January 31 report, listed $6 billion worth of total assets, with the total deposits accounting for $4 billion. The Philadelphia-based bank ran 32 branches spread across New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey that the FDIC indicated they will reopen under the Fulton Bank on Saturday, April 27. 

A reflection of 2023 reveals that rumors about possible banking failures triggered short-lived spikes in Bitcoin. Nonetheless, the news conveyed by FDIC regarding the First Republic Bank saw the price decline. 

Crypto Market Performance

A review of the market activity shows that the global cryptocurrency market capitalization has increased by 2.3% in the past 24 hours, reaching $2.49 trillion, as per CoinGecko data. The crypto trading volume approximates $67.2 billion, with Bitcoin dominance at 50.2% and Ethereum trailing at 16.1%. 

CoinGecko data shows the largest gainers are the Base memecoins and governance tokens in liquid restaking. Altcoins generally realized a slightly larger dip following the news, with the worst-hit being Dogecoin (DOGE) at 2.8% and Solana down by 1.79%. 

The news of the First Republic seizure left Bitcoin with a 1.16% slump to exchange hands at $62,715. Ether suffered a slight dip of 0.58% in exchange hands at $3,095, as per CoinMarketCap data. 

By press time 12:10 UTC, Bitcoin gained slightly by 0.7% to trade at $63,507.34, unlike Ether, which is 5% up to trade at $3,291.93 as per CoinGecko. 

The altcoins are riding the recovery, with BNB up by 2.3% and Solana (SOL) by 3.3%. The largest memecoin by market value, Dogecoin (DOGE), is 2.5%, trailing the 3.7% gain by Toncoin (TON) in the past 24 hours, as per CoinGecko. 

Bumpy Ride for US Banking Segment

The news of Republic First’s collapse on Friday reveals the bumpy ride the US banking industry has witnessed since 2023. The segment saw five banking failures last year, as per FDIC data.

JPMorgan acquired the First R Public Bank in May last year after a failed ed bid for the bank to recover. However, the First Republic lacks affiliations to the Republic First, whose 32 branches will operate under Fulton Bank. 

The US had earlier witnessed the Signature Bank closure in March 2023. The Federal Reserve explained the decision as necessary to safeguard the US economy from systemic risk. 

Signature closure came days after the Silicon Valley Bank received a cease order. The order to shut down was hot on the news of crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Bank announcing it was entering voluntary liquidation.