The Trend is Your Friend? The Crypto Industry is Turning its Back on Silvergate

原文标题：《 墙倒众人推？加密行业正在抛弃 Silvergate 》

原文作者：Andr Beganski，decrypt

Moni, Odaily Planet

On March 2, Silvergate Capital Corporation, the holding company for crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank, announced a delay in filing its annual 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, It says it may be undercapitalised and is reviewing its business. Silvergate claims that accounting firms and independent auditors have asked it to provide more information in anticipation of potential congressional inquiries and subsequent investigations by the Department of Justice and bank regulators.

The news sent the digital asset industry scrambling to distance itself from Silvergate, and Silvergate shares fell like a waterfall, closing Thursday at $5.72, down 57.69%. Is down more than 93% from its all-time high of $222 in November 2021 during the last crypto bull market. .

The crypto industry is abandoning it. Silvergate

Silvergate has confirmed that a series of recent events may affect its ability to be a "going concern," a situation that is clearly not desirable for the crypto industry. Following this news, a number of crypto companies and trading platforms have distanced themselves from Silvergate.

1. Coinbase

Coinbase was the first crypto trading platform to announce that it would no longer work with Silvergate. On the evening of March 2, Coinbase announced on social media that in light of recent developments and out of an abundance of caution, it would no longer accept or initiate payments with Silvergate and would no longer offer Silvergate as a US dollar banking partner for Prime customers. Coinbase also acknowledged that it has minimal corporate exposure to Silvergate and has switched its dollar banking to Signature Bank, a change that does not affect payment orders in sterling or euros.

2. Crypto.com

Singapore-based cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto.com also announced that it would also refuse transfers of funds to and from Silvergate. A spokesperson for the trading platform confirmed that "deposits and withdrawals through Silvergate have been suspended."

3. Bitstamp

In a statement posted on its official blog on March 3, Bitstamp said the Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency exchange had temporarily cancelled it for all users. Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN)  Services, as well as all US dollar wire transfer support through Silvergate Bank, for immediate US dollar payments, Signature Bank's   is currently required; SigNet service. In addition, Bitstamp clarifies that its platform customer funds are safe and that Bitstamp has an agreement with Silvergate Bank  There is no material risk that the trading platform is associated with global   17  Bank partners and implemented alternative banking services to ensure minimal disruption to customers.

4. Gemini

In a tweet, Gemini said it was actively monitoring Silvergate Bank, but did not have any GUSD and client funds in the bank. In addition, Gemini has stopped client deposits/withdrawals through ACH. Silvergate Bank's money exchange service to Gemini has also been suspended.

5. Circle

Dollar stablecoin   USDC  "Circle is in touch with a number of banking partners, is very aware of the concerns surrounding Silvergate, and is in the process of unwinding some services with Silvergate," issuer Circle said in a social media post. Circle says it will keep customers informed of developments and that all Circle services, including USDC, are currently functioning normally. Circle has multiple reserve and settlement banking partners who manage USDC's cash reserves and provide strong liquidity management.

6. Paxos

On the evening of March 2, Paxos, the issuer of USD Stablecoin BUSD, posted a statement to Silvergate Bank on social media, saying that the company and   There has been no substantive engagement with Silvergate, and Paxos' priority has always been to protect its customers' money and assets and leverage a diverse network of banking partners.

7. Tether

Dollar stablecoin   USDT  Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer (CTO) of issuer Tether, said on social media that the company has no exposure to or contact with Silvergate.

8. Galaxy Digital

Mike Novogratz's crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital tweeted that in light of recent developments, Galaxy has stopped accepting or initiating money transfers to Silvergate. As a company, Galaxy had no substantive contact with Silvergate and took this action out of an abundance of caution and as part of the risk management process to ensure the safety of customers and the company's assets.

9. Cboe Digital

Cboe Digital also issued a clarification notice to its members and participants in the first instance that it would suspend all transactions with Silvergate and use other banking partners to process cash transactions.

10. MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy, the largest publicly held company in Bitcoin, confirmed that it has a loan from Silvergate that doesn't mature until the first quarter of 2025. It said the loan will not accelerate Silvergate's bankruptcy, Also confirm that the Bitcoin collateral is not held in custody by Silvergate and has no financial relationship with it other than this loan.

FTX  Another casualty of the crash?

Silvergate was another casualty of the FTX crash. Due to the collapse of FTX, Silvergate's bank deposits plummeted. Silvergate previously reported that it handled a large number of withdrawals in the last fiscal quarter of 2022, with $8.1 billion being made in January alone. It accounts for 68% of its deposit balance. . To meet the heavy demand for crypto market withdrawals, Silvergate had to obtain a $4.3 billion loan from the Federal Home Loan Bank and sell about $5.2 billion worth of debt securities.

The bank's poor performance has even drawn the ire of members of Congress, with Senator Elizabeth Warren leading a letter to Silvergate's chief executive, Alan Lane, Demanding greater scrutiny of Silvergate's dealings with FTX and Alameda, who were concerned at the time. Silvergate's deal with FTX "further introduces crypto market risk into the traditional banking system".

In January America's Department of Justice launched a complaint against Silvergate for handling accounts for FTX, in particular for allowing FTX to place deposits, including user funds. Alameda Research  Potential criminal activity on the account.

In fact, the market got a sniff of potential risk early on, and Wall Street investors, including billionaire George Soros, have recently shorted Silvergate. At the end of February, according to MarketWatch data. Has become the most shorted stock on Wall Street, of all the stocks available for investors to buy and sell. Silvergate  Among stocks, the proportion of short stocks is   73.5% & have spent , ranked first.

Frankly, Silvergate used to be one of the few banks in the U.S. that handled cryptocurrency-related funds. Circle, Coinbase, Binance US, and several local crypto agencies all worked with Silvergate, but when things get ugly, When Silvergate got into trouble and couldn't get out, crypto companies left it in search of other banking solutions.

Although Silvergate has said it will file its 10-K report soon, the crypto market seems to have eroded its confidence. Whether Silvergate will come back from the dead or not, only time will tell.

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