What happened
The news went from bad to worse today for Silvergate Capital (SI 9.76%), the crypto bank that's been under financial pressure for months. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said it is evaluating "its ability to continue as a going concern," which is often a precursor to filing for bankruptcy.
Shares fell as much as 55.2% on Thursday and were down 53.7% as of 2:20 p.m. ET.
So what
The SEC filing was made to tell investors that the 10-K annual filing will be delayed. Some of the reasons cited for the delay were the need for time to evaluate internal controls, completion of independent audits, and recording journal entries related to major events. The "going concern" line I highlighted above was included later in the report.
It was also announced that the company sold additional investment securities to pay back an advance from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. This was done with debt raised in January and February.
Now what
Silvergate has been in trouble for months, but this was confirmation of how bad the company's condition has become. It was a counterparty to FTX, which went bankrupt in November 2022, and then saw investors pull out assets from Silvergate in a run on the bank.
It's hard to see how the company recovers from this. Investors and depositors will flee, which will add even more pressure. Shareholders should get out anything they can now, because the future doesn't look bright for Silvergate.
