Silvergate Stock Plunges as Bank Says It May Face DOJ, Congressional and Bank Regulator Inquiries

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/03/01/silvergate-stock-plunges-as-bank-says-it-may-face-doj-congressional-and-bank-regulator-inquiries/

Silvergate Bank announced it would delay the filing of its annual report on Wednesday, sending its stock price plunging over 10% in after-hours trading.

The crypto-friendly bank has said it would have to delay the filing of its annual 10-K report for the 2022 fiscal year, and would need more than an additional two weeks to complete it.

"The Company is currently analyzing certain regulatory and other inquiries and investigations that are pending with respect to the Company," the filing said. Silvergate's accounting firm is also requesting further information, as are its independent auditors.

In the "forward-looking statements" section, Silvergate also hinted at regulatory scrutiny.

Reuters two weeks ago reported Binance (global) had access to Binance.US' Silvergate bank account and moved millions to a trading firm owned by Binance (global) CEO Changpeng Zhao without the Binance.US' CEO's knowledge. A Binance spokesperson did not deny the story when contacted by CoinDesk.

The Silvergate filing continued: "There are or will be important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to ... restrictions on the Company’s business, resulting from various litigation (including private litigation) and regulatory and other inquiries and investigations against or with respect to the Company, investigations from our banking regulators, congressional inquiries and investigations from the U.S. Department of Justice."

The impact of these events could affect the ability for the company to "continue as a going concern," Silvergate added.