When a traditional bank fails, a SWAT team of regulators swoops in, winding it down in secret and preventing a panic that could spread throughout the financial system. In cryptocurrency banking, the demise happens in full public view — and there is no regulatory SWAT team to keep the markets calm.

That story unfolded this past week as Celsius Network, a major crypto lender that had more than $11bn in deposits, froze withdrawals. “Celsius has billions in liquidity,” chief executive Alex Mashinsky said publicly on Friday, 1o June.