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Silvergate Capital announced Thursday a series of worrisome financial metrics related to the shock collapse of its top client FTX, which lost $8.1 billion near the end of last year, as the crypto-focused financial institution treads water. including withdrawals).
Silvergate leadership at New York Stock Exchange opening bell ahead of bank’s IPO in November … [+]
important facts
Cryptocurrency customers withdrew $8.1 billion from Silvergate in the last three months of 2022, with total digital asset deposits down 68% from $11.9 billion to $3.2 billion.
Silvergate has sold $5.2 billion worth of bonds at a loss of $718 million to fund its execution, coinciding with the high-profile dismantling of FTX, a high-profile Silvergate client. and laid off 40% of its workforce (approximately 200 layoffs).
Silvergate revealed Thursday that about $150 million of its bank deposits are from bankrupt customers. This clearly indicates that he has FTX holdings in the same agency.
In a statement, the company attributed the recent rise to a “global confidence crisis.” [crypto] Ecosystem. ”
Silvergate’s share price fell 47% in early trading on Thursday, and is down about 75% since FTX began to collapse in early November.
main background
Silvergate was one of the first banks to work with cryptocurrency customers and has established itself as a leading financial institution in the digital asset space. The company culminated in riding the cryptocurrency boom, with its stock price rising more than 1,700% from its $12 per share in 2019 to its $220 peak in late 2021. But just as Silvergate has enjoyed a rapid rise in the value and popularity of its digital assets, it has been crushed by a downturn in the industry, with Thursday’s $12.21 share price its lowest ticker since April 2020. The global crypto token market capitalization is around $850 billion. That’s down from $3 trillion in November 2021, according to CoinGecko.
amazing facts
Authorities ordered the seizure of $93 million worth of FTX funds held at Silvergate last month, according to a court filing Wednesday, along with $460 million worth of FTX-held retail trading platform Robinhood. CEO Sam Bankman has embarrassed himself by saying he has taken over or plans to seize a stake in the fried food industry.
tangent
Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, one of the few publicly traded companies alongside Silvergate primarily focused on digital assets, fell 13% in early trading on Thursday. Coinbase on Wednesday agreed to pay $100 million to settle an investigation from New York financial authorities for doing the “minimum” to meet compliance and anti-money laundering requirements.
References
Fed moves to seize Robinhood stake in FTX as Sam Bankman-Fried faces fraud charges (forbes)
Coinbase pays $100 million after regulators find ‘serious failure’ increases risk of criminal activity (forbes)
