A digital asset-friendly bank known for serving crypto firms is announcing tremendous losses from the last quarter of 2022.
Silvergate Capital, which became a publicly traded company in 2019, is known for handling digital assets and enables exchanges, institutions, and traders to exchange crypto for fiat currencies.
In a new announcement, the bank says it lost $1 billion in the last three months of last year’s bear market alone.
“Net loss attributable to common shareholders for the quarter was $1.0 billion, or $33.16 loss per common share, compared to net income of $40.6 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2022, and net income of $18.4 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2021.”
However, compared to the entire year of 2022, net losses were slightly more manageable, according to Silvergate.
“Net loss attributable to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $948.7 million, or $30.07 loss per common share, compared to net income of $75.5 million, or $2.91 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2021.”
Despite the big fourth-quarter losses, the bank’s exchange network did see a slight increase in transactions over the same period.
“The Silvergate Exchange Network (‘SEN’) handled $117.1 billion of U.S. dollar transfers in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 4% compared to $112.6 billion in the third quarter of 2022, and a decrease of 47% compared to $219.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021.”
According to Silvergate Capital CEO Alan Lane,
“While we are taking decisive actions to navigate the current environment, our mission has not changed. We believe in the digital asset industry, and we remain focused on providing value-added services for our core institutional customers.
To that end, we are committed to maintaining a highly liquid balance sheet with a strong capital position.”
Though the markets have been difficult, Silvergate told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month that it still believes in cryptocurrencies, echoing Lane’s comments.
“While Silvergate is taking decisive action to navigate the current environment, its mission has not changed. Silvergate believes in the digital asset industry.”
Don't Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inboxGenerated Image: Midjourney