Bitcoin price slides 5% in 60 minutes amid Silvergate uncertainty

March 3, 2023 Coin Telegraph

10-K Filing

The price of BTC has fallen a steep 5% in 60 minutes in the early hours of Mar. 3, wiping $22 billion from Bitcoin's market cap.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen over 5% from $23,500 to $22,240 in just over 60 minutes, amid a wave of uncertainty concerning crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital.

The price drop has wiped $22 billion from Bitcoin's total market capitalization, which is now at $430.9 billion, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro.

Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP), Cardano (ADA) and Polygon (MATIC), and other non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies have also suffered a similar sharp decline.

Bitcoin just dropped $1200 in less than 30 minutes.
— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) March 3, 2023

While the exact cause behind the steep $1,200 price drop isn't clear, the fall is coinciding with the recent controversy surrounding Silvergate Bank and the delayed filing of its annual 10-K financial report.

Markus Thielen, the head of research at digital asset platform Matrixport told Cointelegraph that the $1200 price fall is linked to recent Silvergate Bank controversy with its delayed annual 10-K financial report filing, in addition to an increased effort by United States regulators attempting to restrict ties between banks and crypto firms:

The drop is due to the continuous fallout from Silvergate bank as there is now more uncertainty about fiat on-and-off ramp. In addition, there are now wider industry concerns that US regulators are trying to cut off further banking relationships between crypto firms and FDIC insured banks. Nevertheless, this is playing into the hands of Hong Kong and China that are becoming more crypto friendly."

"We have seen an increase in stablecoin activity as a sign that crypto firms are using crypto rails to move money around," he added.

Several technical analysts on Twitter claimed to have predicted the fall from $23,000 resistance, however, the reasons causing the push down are not clear.

*Bitcoin price chart. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro*

The last time BTC was priced at $22,250 was Feb. 15.

The sharp fall comes despite an increase start to 2023, with BTC still up 34.8% since it was priced at $16,550 on Jan. 1.

MicroStrategy, Tether adds to firms distancing from Silvergate as stock dives 57%

March 3, 2023 Coin Telegraph

10-K Filing

MicroStrategy confirmed that none of its 130,000 BTC is custodied by Silvergate. However, the firm does have a loan to pay off to the bank by Q1 2025.

Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy and stablecoin issuer Tether have become the latest two firms to publicly deny any meaningful exposure to Silvergate Bank.

The news comes after Silvergate announced on March 1 that it would postpone the filing of its annual 10-K financial report, which has many fearing the cryptocurrency bank may be on the brink of a bankruptcy filing.

This led MicroStrategy — which holds over 130,000 Bitcoin (BTC) — to confirm that its BTC collateral is not custodied with Silvergate.

The Michael Saylor-founded firm added that it will not need to pay back a loan from Silvergate until Q1 2025 and that a bankruptcy or insolvency event wouldn’t “accelerate” the loan repayment.

We have a loan from Silvergate not due until Q1 ‘25. There are mkt concerns re SI’s fin. condition. For anyone wondering, the loan wouldn’t accelerate b/c of SI insolvency or bankruptcy. Our BTC collateral isn’t custodied w/ SI & we have no other financial relationship w/ SI.
— MicroStrategy (@MicroStrategy) March 2, 2023

Paolo Ardoino, the chief technology officer of Tether, confirmed in a March 2 tweet that Tether is not exposed to Silvergate either.

#Tether does not have any exposure to Silvergate.
— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) March 2, 2023

A collapse of the cryptocurrency bank could prove costly for the rest of the industry.

Silvergate is a fintech firm that provides financial infrastructure solutions and services to some of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, institutional investors and mining companies in the world.

It offers a 24/7 payments platform, named Silvergate Exchange Network, which has reportedly processed over $1 trillion in transactions since 2017.

The firm also provides a stablecoin infrastructure platform, digital asset custody management and collateralized lending services to several institutional players in the cryptocurrency industry.

*A diagram of Silvergate’s clientele and crypto offerings. Source:* *Silvergate Bank*

Despite the large network effects, the late 10-K filing appears to have had a consequential effect on its partnerships.

Within 24 hours of the late 10-K filing, Coinbase, Circle, Bitstamp, Galaxy Digital and Paxos confirmed that they will scale back their partnerships with the cryptocurrency bank in some capacity.

Gemini also announced that it has stopped accepting customer deposits and processing withdrawals through Silvergate ACH and wire transfers.

Others who have seemingly cut or reduced ties include Crypto.com, Blockchain.com, Wintermute, GSR and Cboe Digital, according to reports.

Silvergate failed to file their annual report citing regulatory investigations. Possibly not solvent.

They already lost majority of their partners. pic.twitter.com/LKdQtNfRRe
— Quinten | 048.eth (@QuintenFrancois) March 2, 2023

Concerns of Silvergate’s potential financial troubles first surfaced in Q4 2022, when it reported a net loss of $1 billion as a result of the shock collapse of FTX in November.

The exact dealings between Silvergate and FTX have been subject to a probe by the United States Department of Justice recently, although there’s been no accusation of wrongdoing at this point.

Plaintiffs in a newly proposed class-action lawsuit against FTX on Feb. 14 accused Silvergate of “aiding and abetting” a “multibillion-dollar fraudulent scheme” that was orchestrated by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Despite many firms recently claiming not to have exposure to Silvergate, the bank still processed over $3.8 billion in customer deposits in Q4 2022. This was a steep fall from $11.9 billion in Q3 2022, according to Silvergate.

*Silvergate’s change in share price index on the New York Stock Exchange. Source:* *MarketWatch.*

Since the news of the late 10-K filing on March 1, Silvergate’s stock price has fallen a massive 58.7% to $5.57. The stock is now down over 97% since its all-time high of $219.7, hit on Nov. 14, 2021.

Coinbase Severs Ties With Silvergate Bank Amidst JPMorgan Downgrade and Delayed SEC Filing

March 2, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Robinhood Wallet rolls out on iOS with Android support to follow

March 2, 2023 Coin Telegraph

10-K Filing

The full launch and removal of the 1 million waitlisted users come six months after Robinhood launched its beta version in September.

Trading platform Robinhood has launched its Web3 wallet on Apple’s App Store, becoming available to iOS users in over 130 countries.

Robinhood shared the news in a Mar. 1 post, stating that users would no longer need to sit on a waitlist to access the new multi-chain, self-custody wallet. It added that it will be supported on Android “later this year.”

#RobinhoodWallet is now available to everyone with iOS: https://t.co/yUdL8jCgJN pic.twitter.com/q7RIWBJUIT
— Johann Kerbrat (@JohannKerbrat) March 1, 2023

Since the beta launch of the Robinhood Wallet in September, the trading platform integrated Ethereum — in addition to already supporting Polygon — and added 50+ ERC tokens to be bought, sold and held on the self-custody wallet.

Among the tokens now supported include USDC, UNI, MATIC and SHIB.

These tokens can be traded without paying transaction fees and users are able to use these cryptocurrencies to interact with a range of decentralized applications (Dapps).

*A preview of the Robinhood Web3 Wallet. Source:* *Robinhood.*

Robinhood Crypto general manager Johann Kerbrat said the support for Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens came in response to customers wanting access to more coins and tokens on more chains.

Since the beta launch, Robinhood Wallet has also added a nonfungible token (NFT) feature to enable users to collect and store their favorite collectibles on Ethereum and Polygon.

A Robinhood spokesperson told Cointelegraph that Robinhood NFTs would not be subject to Apple’s 30% commission on apps and in-app purchases of digital goods and services.

While the Robinhood Wallet is self custodied there is a range of self-verification methods that can be implemented to provide security to its Web3 users:

“When users get started, they need to set up either Face/Touch ID or a custom PIN, which they’ll use to authenticate every time they open the app. They will also be asked to create a secret recovery phrase, also known as a seed phrase, that allows them access to their wallet and crypto.”

Robinhood stated that users “can–and should–back up their wallet” by writing it down, storing it offline, or saving it in a secure manner.

However, not everyone is on board with the security mechanisms set in place with the Robinhood Wallet.

A Reddit poster by the name of “StamInBlack” wasn’t happy with the option of having seed phrases stored on iCloud, while others in the same thread expressed unrelated reservations with the trading platform.

*An additional method to secure the Robinhood Wallet. Source:* *Robinhood.*

However, Kerbrat said the feedback on the Robinhood Wallet thus far has been ”extremely positive.”

The rollout comes two days after Robinhood Markets revealed in a 10-K filing that it received a subpoena from the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in December to conduct an investigation into its cryptocurrency listings, custody and platform operations.

10-K Filing

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