Silvergate Down 45% in Premarket as Coinbase Switches to Signature Bank

Silvergate’s stock was over 45% in the red ahead of the Thursday trading session after the crypto bank said it needs more time to complete its annual report and warned it might not be able to go forward. The move represents another headwind for the embattled bank, which reported a $1 billion net loss in Q4.

Silvergate Stock Deep in Red as the Bank Warns it May Not Survive

Shares of Silvergate are down more than 45% in premarket trading Thursday, extending its recent share price losses. The stock currently trades at $13.53 per share ahead of the market open.

The latest drop comes after the crypto lender said it was delaying its annual report on Wednesday and rang alarm bells about its ability to continue operating. Silvergate said it needed two more weeks to complete its annual 10-K report for the 2022 fiscal year.

“The Company is currently analyzing certain regulatory and other inquiries and investigations that are pending with respect to the Company.”

Silvergate wrote in its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Furthermore, the company said in the filing it had offloaded additional debt securities to settle its debts this year, warning that further losses could imply that the bank is “less than well capitalized.” It said it is currently reassessing its business and strategies due to its recent regulatory and industry challenges.

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Silvergate’s Unprecedented Downturn

The filing marks the latest blow to the troubled crypto-focused bank, which has posted a $1 billion loss in the fourth quarter after investors rushed to withdraw their crypto funds following the FTX fiasco. Investors withdrew more than $8 billion in deposits during the last three months of 2022, Silvergate said at the time.

To make things even worse, the crypto lender is also facing an investigation by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) for its connections with Sam Bankman-Fried’s collapsed businesses. The investigation focuses on Silvergate’s hosting of accounts belonging to Sam Bankman-Fried’s bankrupt companies and attempts to discover how aware the bank was of the illegal activities conducted by FTX and related firms.

This series of challenges made Silvergate the second most shorted stock in the US, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reported in February. Once a vital banking pillar in the crypto ecosystem, Silvergate lost more than 90% of its stock value in less than one year.

Earlier today, crypto exchange Coinbase reportedly switched from Silvergate to Signature Bank to facilitate its service for Prime customers.

Do you think Silvergate could survive the storm, or is it delaying the inevitable? Let us know in the comments below.