Silvergate Bank
Silvergate Bank was a federally chartered, La Jolla-based commercial bank that provided deposit, settlement, and treasury services to institutional cryptocurrency firms via its Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) before ceasing operations in March 2023.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1988
- HeadquartersLa Jolla, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Silvergate Bank does
Silvergate Bank was a California-chartered commercial bank founded in 1988 and headquartered in La Jolla that, from approximately 2013 onward, repositioned itself as the dominant fiat-rail provider for the institutional cryptocurrency industry. Its core offering was the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN), a real-time, 24/7 USD settlement platform that connected crypto exchanges, market makers, institutional traders, and the bank's own deposit and cash-management services, enabling participants to move dollars between counterparties without relying on traditional wire cutoffs. The bank monetized primarily through net interest income on a crypto-concentrated deposit base, supplemented by transaction and account fees; its go-to-market was a single, deeply specialized vertical (digital asset firms) rather than a horizontal SMB or retail motion. By 2021, deposits had grown to roughly $14B and the company was publicly listed on the NYSE under ticker SI, with Alan Lane as CEO, Antonio Martino as CFO, and co-founder Derek J. Eisele as Chief Credit Officer.
The business model collapsed in late 2022 when FTX and Alameda Research failed, triggering an unprecedented deposit run and ultimately a voluntary wind-down announced in March 2023. The institution is now closed, with residual activity limited to litigation and settlement administration: the SEC settled with former executive Kate Fraher in 2024, and a proposed $10M class settlement covering over 46,000 claimants with FTX or Alameda account ties was scheduled for final hearing in early 2025. Strategically, Silvergate's most consequential recent move was the February 2022 acquisition of Diem (Meta's stablecoin initiative) for approximately $182M, intended to extend the bank into programmable money and on-chain payment rails; that offensive expansion was aborted by the wind-down.
Silvergate Bank firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Silvergate Bank
- Legal name
- Silvergate Bank
- Website
- https://silvergate.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1988
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Silvergate Bank was a federally chartered, La Jolla-based commercial bank that provided deposit, settlement, and treasury services to institutional cryptocurrency firms via its Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) before ceasing operations in March 2023.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Silvergate Bank industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cryptocurrency Banking
- NAICS
- Commercial Banking (52211)
- SIC
- State Commercial Banks (6022)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Crypto/Web3 Neobanks (FSABAFAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Digital Banking & Neobank Platforms (BPAMAFAD)
Keywords
Where Silvergate Bank is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- La Jolla
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Silvergate Bank business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others, Infrastructure
Silvergate Bank product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Silvergate Bank was a federally chartered commercial bank that provided traditional banking services—transaction processing, deposit accounts, and real-time fiat settlement—to cryptocurrency exchanges, digital asset companies, and institutional crypto investors. Its flagship capability was the Silvergate Exchange Network, enabling near-instant U.S. dollar transfers between crypto market participants around the clock.
Product overview
Silvergate Bank was a federally chartered bank that provided financial services to the cryptocurrency industry, offering banking solutions for digital asset companies including crypto exchanges and investors. The bank underwent a wind-down process in 2023 following regulatory pressures and is currently involved in settlement proceedings related to FTX-related litigation. No specific named products, modules, or service offerings are detailed in the available source data.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Crypto-focused commercial banking services Traditional banking services—deposit accounts, transaction processing, wire transfers, and treasury management—offered to cryptocurrency firms, exchanges, and institutional digital asset clients.
Companies that use Silvergate Bank
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Silvergate Bank technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Silvergate Bank partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Silvergate Bank competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Metropolitan Commercial Bank: New York-chartered commercial bank with a well-known crypto-vertical (B2B banking for exchanges and digital-asset firms); serves a similar customer set as Silvergate and competed directly for crypto exchange deposits and payment rails.
- Signature Bank: New York-based commercial bank that built a substantial crypto-banking franchise with deposit, payments, and Signet network services; failed within days of Silvergate in March 2023 under the same post-FTX regulatory pressure, making it the closest comparable peer.
- Customers Bank: Pennsylvania-chartered commercial bank that has actively courted crypto and fintech clients for deposits and treasury services; one of the few remaining U.S. banks willing to bank digital-asset firms after Silvergate/Signature.
- Custodia Bank (formerly Avanti): Wyoming-chartered special-purpose depository institution focused exclusively on serving digital-asset businesses; overlaps directly with Silvergate's target customer base and crypto-banking model.
- Anchorage Digital: Federally chartered digital-asset bank (OCC trust charter) that provides custody, settlement, and banking services to crypto institutions; competes for the same institutional digital-asset clients Silvergate served.
Emerging players
- Kraken Financial: Wyoming-chartered SPDI launched by Kraken to provide crypto-native banking and payment services; an emerging competitor in the digital-asset banking niche Silvergate pioneered.
- Paxos: Regulated blockchain infrastructure platform issuing stablecoins (USDP, PYUSD) and providing custody and execution services for crypto firms; overlaps with Silvergate's exchange-facing payment and custody-adjacent infrastructure.
Broad incumbents
- Circle Internet Financial: Issuer of USDC and a broader crypto-financial-services platform with its own bank-licensing efforts and treasury operations serving digital-asset firms; overlaps with Silvergate's stablecoin-adjacent payments and reserve infrastructure.
- Galaxy Digital: Public crypto-financial-services firm offering trading, lending, asset management, and treasury/custody solutions to institutional digital-asset clients; serves overlapping institutional customers with broader, non-bank product breadth.
Regional players
- BankProv: Massachusetts-based commercial bank (formerly Provident State Bank) that built a lending-and-deposit franchise specifically targeting crypto and tech businesses; a smaller-scale regional analogue of Silvergate's crypto-banking model.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
Silvergate Bank social profiles
Digital presenceSilvergate Bank financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Silvergate Bank leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Silvergate Bank funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Silvergate Bank M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments4 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Silvergate Bank
What does Silvergate Bank do?
Silvergate Bank was a federally chartered commercial bank that provided traditional banking services—transaction processing, deposit accounts, and real-time fiat settlement—to cryptocurrency exchanges, digital asset companies, and institutional crypto investors. Its flagship capability was the Silvergate Exchange Network, enabling near-instant U.S. dollar transfers between crypto market participants around the clock.
Is Silvergate Bank a public or private company?
Silvergate Bank is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently closed.
When was Silvergate Bank founded?
Silvergate Bank was founded in 1988. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Silvergate Bank based?
Silvergate Bank is headquartered in La Jolla, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Silvergate Bank's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Metropolitan Commercial Bank, Signature Bank, Customers Bank, Custodia Bank (formerly Avanti) and Anchorage Digital. Emerging players are Kraken Financial and Paxos. Broad incumbents are Circle Internet Financial and Galaxy Digital. BankProv is listed as a regional player.
Does Silvergate Bank have an API?
No public API is recorded for Silvergate Bank.
What industry is Silvergate Bank in?
Silvergate Bank's product category is Cryptocurrency Banking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSABAFAG, Crypto/Web3 Neobanks, with a secondary code of BPAMAFAD, Digital Banking & Neobank Platforms. Its NAICS code is 52211 and its SIC code is 6022.