Silvergate Shares Plummet 20% Amid Bearish Q3 Performance, Stablecoin Delays

Silvergate Capital Corp (NYSE: SI) shares have plummeted 19.5% over the past five days after the crypto-focused bank reported a rather bleak Q3 performance.

As of this writing, Silvergate shares are trading at around $55.3, staging a 3.5% recovery during Thursday’s early trading hours, per Nasdaq.

Silvergate reported earnings per share of $1.28 for the quarter, lower than average analyst estimates of $1.46, according to Yahoo Finance. 

SEN (Silvergate Exchange Network), the company’s internal transfer network for crypto clients, also saw a decline in the third quarter triggered by the ongoing crypto bear market.

SEN transaction volume declined 41% from $191.3 billion to $112.6 billion in the third quarter, affecting the company’s fee revenues. Income generated from fees also slipped from $8.8 million in the second quarter to $7.9 million this quarter.

“While volumes on the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) decreased this quarter compared to the overall industry, we remain confident in the power of our platform and the opportunities for expansion within the network,” wrote Silvergate CEO Alan Lane, CEO of Silvergate.

The company’s average crypto deposits stood at $12 billion during the third quarter of 2022 compared to $13.8 billion during the previous quarter.

Last week’s bearish performance has reeled Silvergate shares back to July 2022 levels, wiping off three months’ worth of gains.

Delayed stablecoin launch

In January 2022, Silvergate acquired Meta’s failed cryptocurrency startup, Diem, to build a stablecoin on top of its infrastructure. 

The stablecoin is yet to make its way into the markets and Alan Lane ruled out the possibility of launching within this year, likely fueling Silvergate share’s decline.

Regulatory hurdles are the primary reason behind the stablecoin launch delay

“The technology that we acquired earlier this year was ready to go when we acquired it,” Lane said during the company’s earnings call.  “And so it really is, as I said, in some of my prepared remarks, it’s working with the regulators and with policymakers and just making sure that we have got this right.”

“We are certainly disappointed that it looks like we are going to miss our goal of launching it [the stablecoin] this year,” said Lane during the company’s earnings call.

The total valuation of crypto markets has plummeted by more than $1 trillion since January 2022 as investors shy from volatile assets to combat raging inflation amid the Fed’s hawkish rate hikes.