Signature Bank is facing a class-action lawsuit for its role in the operations of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which has since filed for bankruptcy.
The algorithmic trading firm, Statistica Capital, and Statistica Ltd., claim in a court filing that Signature Bank “had actual knowledge of and substantially facilitated the now-infamous FTX fraud.”
The claimants assert that the bank allowed FTX customer funds to be transferred to accounts controlled by Alameda Research, which is owned by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
FTX was considered one of Signature Bank’s clients, although its deposits with the bank accounted for less than 0.1% of the bank’s overall deposits.
It remains to be seen whether the bank’s relationship with the cryptocurrency industry will change after the FTX incident. Signature Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
