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> If it never existed, then FTX was operating more like a bank - dollars only work because they have a paper trail and we can keep printing new ones. Try cashin
by evancox100 4y ago
> If it never existed, then FTX was operating more like a bank - dollars only work because they have a paper trail and we can keep printing new ones. Try cashing out your savings, you might be able to. Now try everyone cashing out - there is no money for it.
Of course there is money in a bank run on an otherwise solvent bank. The Fed steps in and either lends the money in exchange for its pound of flesh, or takes over and makes depositors whole, up to the FDIC limits.
The fact that the Fed CAN do this, combined with bank regulations such as reserve requirements, is why it doesn’t need to do this very often.
Banks are explicit that they borrow short and lend long. It’s not that the money isn’t there, it’s just a mismatch in liquidity/duration. For FTX, the assets themselves were bad, never mind the liquidity.
- imtringued 4y agoAlso, if we assume a bank run and you cash out dollar bills then you are technically banking with the Fed which means the Fed can lend that money back to the commercial bank. Deposits aren't needed to run a bank. They are needed to compete with lower interest rates against other banks.