On March 8th, 2023, at 4:30 pm Eastern Time, Silvergate Bank announced that it will be winding down its operations and voluntarily liquidating the bank’s assets. The announcement comes after the bank faced significant financial difficulties and a sharp decline in the firm’s stock value.
Silvergate Capital Corporation (NYSE: SI) saw its stock value drop by 94.82% against the US dollar over the last six months due to the bank’s exposure to the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX. On March 8th, Silvergate released a statement announcing its plans to wind down operations and liquidate the bank. Four days before the announcement, Silvergate discontinued its payment platform, the Silvergate Exchange Network.
The press release stated that Silvergate believed an orderly wind down and voluntary liquidation of the bank was the best path forward, given the recent industry and regulatory developments. The bank’s wind-down and liquidation plan include a full repayment of all deposits. The company is also evaluating how best to settle claims and preserve the residual value of its assets, including its proprietary technology and tax assets.
Following the announcement, Silvergate’s stock closed at $4.91 per share, after losing 40.99% of its USD value over the last five days. Last week, Silvergate had to delay its annual fiscal earnings report and faced regulatory scrutiny from U.S. officials, which it disclosed in its filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Furthermore, the banking giant JPMorgan downgraded Silvergate’s stock. The stock downgrade led large crypto firms such as Circle, Crypto.com, Gemini, Paxos, and Coinbase to distance themselves from the crypto-friendly bank.