Silvergate Bank has for the first time named a few of her clients in an filing. The bank had remained supportive of crypto-related businesses at a time when other financial institutions turned their backs.
Deposits Declined 8 Percent
The crypto-supportive bank revealed in its March 18, 2019 to the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) it was serving 542 cryptocurrency-related businesses. The updated client list includes 59 new clients who came on board after the last such filing in September 2018.
The banks Q4 2018 report states that by December 31, 2018, there were at least 232 other crypto-customers still on their list as they awaited the conclusion of onboarding processes including regulatory compliance.
The recent filing with the SEC shows that deposits made by cryptocurrency exchanges to the bank declined from $792.9 million to $618.5 million – a decrease of $174.4 million or eight percent in three months.
The San Diego-based bank, which is among the few banking institutions that have a cordial relationship with cryptocurrency businesses, has for the first time identified some of the clients that came on board during the last quarter of 2018.
This, the bank says, includes two cryptocurrency exchanges, 24 investors and the remaining 33 include several categories such as protocol developers, miners, investors and service providers. Some of the institutions the bank has named publicly as market maker and investment funds and . Silvergate added in its filing:
“Currently, there are over 300 institutional investment funds with aggregate estimated assets under management of between approximately $7.5 billion to $10 billion. Over $8.3 billion has been invested in digital currency-related projects, excluding initial coin offering funding, since December 31, 2013.”
An Oasis in the Crypto-Banking Sector
BTCmanager earlier this month that crypto-based businesses in and the rest of the world were struggling to get the essential banking services following a decision by most lenders to tighten their belts as a result of uncertain local regulatory environments.
The cryptocurrency community in is still awaiting the conclusion of a case in which they challenged the country’s central bank’s decision to bar local banks from serving crypto-related customers. Last February the country’s Supreme Court gave the government a four-week ultimatum to come up with a crypto regulatory framework.
While still a relatively small community bank, Silvergate has continuously maintained a crypto-friendly stance and become a sort of in the crypto-banking desert.
Published at Wed, 20 Mar 2019 17:00:02 +0000
