Silvergate Capital Delays Annual Report Pending Investigation, Stock Tanks 45%

investopedia.com:

Shares of cryptobank Silvergate Capital (SI) sank as much as 45% Thursday morning after the company said it would delay filing its annual report.

In an SEC filing Wednesday, Silvergate said it needed more time to analyze the impact of regulatory inquiries and investigations as well as to let an independent auditor complete an audit.

This admission has prompted many crypto-industry players to cut ties with Silvergate. Coinbase (COIN) said it «is no longer accepting or initiating payments to or from Silvergate,» while Paxos said it has «discontinued all SEN transfers and wires to our Silvergate account.»Paxos will continue to process outbound transfers.

Silvergate was unable to submit its annual report on Form 10-K to the SEC for the fiscal year that ended on Dec. 31, 2022. A deadline extension was granted until March 16, and Silvergate is set to miss that as well.

“The Company is currently analyzing certain regulatory and other inquiries and investigations that are pending with respect to the Company. The Company’s independent registered public accounting firm is also requesting detailed information relating to such matters and the Company is responding to such requests. The Registrant is still preparing analyses and providing documentation requested by its independent auditors in connection with their review,” it said in its SEC Form 12b-25.

In the forward-looking statements section, Silvergate said that it runs the risk of facing inquiries and investigations from banking regulators, Congress, and the Department of Justice.

Silvergate had exposure to the now-bankrupt FTX. In a statement made in November 2022, it stated that the total deposits from all customers associated with FTX amounted to less than 10% of the $11.9