John D’Agostino, Coinbase Institutional’s head of strategy, says his research found no evidence that crypto contributed to community banks’ deposit declines over the past decade. Scott Melker said larger banks—not crypto—are drawing business from regional and community banks.
D’Agostino said his 85-year-old mother left a community bank she had used for 40 years after it cut its hours; unwilling to switch to online banking, she moved to a large bank. He described her case as one anecdote and said he had asked dozens of community-banking and research contacts for evidence.
D’Agostino also relayed Regius Bank’s Chris Kennedy’s warning that community banks could lose the next generation of depositors if they fail to adapt. He pointed to 40–50 open OCC charters from fintechs incorporating stablecoins, which he said can shorten payment times from days to minutes.
