What’s Going on With Silvergate Bank?

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• Silvergate Bank has been in the news recently following several concurrent revelations
• The pro-crypto bank, which went public in 2019, has seen its fortunes fall in the past four months
• What’s the story behind its recent fall from grace?

Silvergate Bank has been in the news on and off for the past four months, and not for good reasons. Allegations of culpability in the FTX collapse plus huge losses and a tanking share price have all helped keep it in the headlines, but what’s the story behind it?

Serving Bitcoin Since 2013

Silvergate Bank is a California-based crypto-friendly bank that was formed as a savings and loan association in 1988 but started serving Bitcoin-associated clients in 2013. It went public in November 2019 and its valuation moved in line with the crypto market. In February 2022 it bought the technology behind Meta’s Diem (originally Libra) cryptocurrency for $200 million.

Silvergate was known to have taken a hit due to the collapse of FTX and the crypto contagion that surrounded it, and in January it posted a $1 billion net loss in its Q4 2022 report. Days later it suspended dividend payouts in order to preserve capital, which was followed by reports that it was facing a Department of Justice over its connections to FTX and Alameda Research.

Two weeks ago Silvergate was hit with a class action lawsuit which alleged that the bank and its CEO Alan Lane had been “aiding and abetting” Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraudulent FTX operations.

Silvergate Misses SEC Filing Deadline

The weeks of woe compounded themselves into the revelation last night that the bank is “evaluating the impact that these subsequent events have on its ability to continue as a going concern for the 12 months following the issuance of its financial statements”. This frank admission came on the back of a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in which it told the agency that it would not be able to file its annual report on time because of a further weakening in its capital position since last month’s dismal fourth-quarter earnings.

This has resulted in not just a 50% collapse in the price of Silvergate shares but also a quickfire $2,000 drop in the price of Bitcoin, which happened at the same time as the news broke.

In its filing, Silvergate blamed the “various litigation (including private litigation) and regulatory and other inquiries and investigations”, including by banking regulators, congressional committees and the US Department of Justice, as the reason for its near collapse, and hinted at further regulatory scrutiny ahead in the filing, which it said could hit its profitability.

The news has led to a rash of crypto companies either announcing a cessation of dealings with Silvergate or claiming no exposure, including Coinbase, Gemini and Tether. Were SIlvergate to go under it would probably result in a short term drop in the price of Bitcoin, but this would only be temporary and nothing like the scale of FTX, so Bitcoin holders shouldn’t worry too much about what comes of Silvergate’s troubles.