Silvergate Bank: The Canary In The Banking (Not Crypto) Coal Mine

Silvergate Capital Corporation announced yesterday that it will wind down operations and liquidate Silvergate Bank after a tumultuous year. The bank’s focus on cryptocurrency clients and the Silvergate Exchange Network earned it the moniker of being “the” crypto bank. This placed Silvergate under a fair degree of scrutiny as its focus industry faced its own share of crises.

While much has been (and will be) written about the events leading to the bank’s liquidation, its failure is raising red flags around the banking community as a whole. While the initial concerns were around Silvergate’s concentration on the crypto industry, events leading to its failure may be pointing to a liquidity crisis with far greater impact.