Silvergate’s cryptocurrency services have gathered increased traction over the past quarter

by CHarvey April 23, 2022

Silvergate Capital Corporation (NYSE:SI) saw customers deposit an average of $14.7 billion worth of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies on the company's platform in the first quarter of this year, up from $13.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 , the company said in its quarterly earnings report released on Tuesday.

"We enter 2022 on a strong note, fueled by the strength of our platform and continued advances in our strategic initiatives," said Alan Lane, Silvergate's Chairman and CEO, in a statement.

As the Company positions itself as a viable banking solution for holders and service providers of assets like Bitcoin, the growing number of clients using the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) continues to demonstrate market demand from institutional buyers. SEN had more than 1,500 customers late last month, Silvergate said, up 27% year over year as the platform had just over 1,100 customers as of March 31, 2021.

SEN permits real-time U.S. greenback and euro agreement among counterparties, similarly to quicker trading, computerized price range distribution, and records analysis. Its customers consist of FTX, Coinbase, Bitstamp, Kraken, and the organisation in the back of the USDC stablecoin, Circle.

"I am particularly pleased with our first quarter results considering this has been one of the most challenging periods for the broader crypto ecosystem since the pandemic began," Lane said.

A cautious cryptocurrency market led to a 35% surge in US dollar remittances in SEN, bringing the figure down from $219.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 to $142.3 billion during the first quarter of 2022 $166 were recorded.5 billion in transactions. Cumulative dollar transfers in the SEN already exceed $1 billion.

"While volume on the Silvergate Exchange Network has been impacted by broader industry trends, I remain encouraged by the continued growth we have seen in customers, SEN leverage commitments and average deposits, which reached a record $14.7 billion," Lane explained.

Net income and customer acquisitions increased, but SEN's leveraged positions saw the most growth. While the metric was $570.5 million in Q4 2021, it teleported to $1.7 billion in commitments at the end of Q1 2022. Over the past year, SEN leverage commitments have represented an increase of more than 400%.