Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

This bitcoin bank's stock has jumped nearly 1,300% in just over a year

This bitcoin bank's stock has jumped nearly 1,300% in just over a year

The boom in bitcoin prices is giving a huge lift to a California bank that accepts cryptocurrency deposits and doles out bitcoin-backed loans.

Shares of Silvergate Capital (SI) are up more than 120% so far this year -— and the stock has skyrocketed nearly 1,300% since going public in November 2019.

Increasingly more financial services firms, such as Bank of New York Mellon (BK), Visa (V), MasterCard (MA) and BlackRock (BLK), are starting to embrace bitcoin. But arguably no bank is as "all-in" on crypto as Silvergate.

CNN Business spoke to Silvergate CEO Alan Lane about the bank's bitcoin business and what he predicts next for the world of crypto.

Silvergate decided to venture into cryptocurrencies after Lane personally invested in bitcoin for the first time in 2013, he said. He realized there was a need for a financial institution that could focus on the "plumbing" of cryptocurrency transactions, taking in deposits and making loans.

Such a bank would have to be able to serve clients at any hour of the day, he said, since bitcoin -— unlike government-backed currencies, stocks, bonds and other financial assets — never stops trading. You can't have traditional banking hours for a non-tradtiional asset.

"We started with crypto deposit accounts for customers and quickly learned that companies need more help beyond traditional 40-hours-a-week banking," Lane said. "We needed to build a bank for a 24/7 digital world."

Silvergate Capital CEO Alan Lane


Silvergate currently has about $5 billion in crypto-backed deposits. But the bank's biggest selling point for customers is its Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN), which lets clients transfer dollars to digital currency exchanges at any time.

"There is a lot of friction in banking. Wire transfers can be time consuming," Lane said. "The beauty of SEN is that once a deposit account is open, you can transact with others in seamless method and transfers are instant."

He noted there is also "more liquidity since the crypto markets are active on nights and weekends while the traditional banking system is closed."

Customers have responded to that. Silvergate announced in October that it had done more than $100 billion in transfers since it started the SEN in 2017.

Lane said the bank's customers are primarily institutional investors and other firms doing business in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Customers can't, as individuals, set up an account at the bank for their bitcoin or other digital assets.

Lending to customers that want to buy more bitcoin


Silvergate's clients include Coinbase, the bitcoin wallet firm that is planning to go public later this year, and Square (SQ), the Jack Dorsey-led payments giant that allows customers to buy and sell bitcoin.

The company has also expanded its lending business to take advantage as more financial firms are looking to invest in bitcoin. The bank launched a product called SEN Leverage last year, which gives investment firms bitcoin-collateralized loans.

"Think of it like a margin loan: Customers deposit bitcoins and we then lend them dollars, which many of those clients use to buy more bitcoin," Lane said.

This all makes Silvergate's stock kind of a proxy for bitcoin. Shares tend to go up when bitcoin does and fall when the crypto's price dips. That's been good for the stock lately but it's clear that Silvergate is much riskier than your average bank stock.

Shares of Silvergate were down 4% Monday, for example, as bitcoin (XBT) prices sank.

Another possible concern is the threat of more competition. So far, Silvergate is one of the few banks with big exposure to bitcoin, but it's not the only one.

New York-based Signature Bank (SBNY) has a growing bitcoin business too, with about $10 billion in crypto deposits.

"It's been a very solid area of growth," said Eric Raymond Howell, Signature Bank's senior executive vice president of corporate and business development, on the bank's most recent earnings conference call. "We're very excited about what's happening there. It's obvious that digital assets and cryptocurrencies are not going away."

Signature Bank CEO Joseph John DePaolo added that the company is "staying ahead of the pack and not being a follower but being the leader technologically wise" and that the bank's crypto business is "growing by leaps and bounds."

Lane conceded that "Signature is probably the closest thing to competition" for Silvergate. But he thinks the bitcoin banking business is big enough for multiple players, especially since other banks are only just starting to dip their toes in the crypto waters.

"Suffice it to say that we are one of only a few banks working in bitcoin so we hope to be involved with any businesses that want to be engaged in cryptocurrencies seriously," Lane said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Saudi Arabia Faces Uncertainty Over Succession After Mohammed bin Salman
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Majority of French Voters View Macron's Presidency as a Failure
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
×