By James Davis
In its filing with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), Silvergate, a crypto-friendly bank, revealed that one of its board members, Rebecca Rettig, had resigned. Rettig, who joined the bank last March, presented her resignation letter on Wednesday. Previously, she worked at Aave Group, owner of Aave protocol.
Silvergate noted in the document that Rettig was leaving the firm because another company had offered her an executive position. Further, the bank insisted that her decision to resign was not fueled by any disagreement or disputes. Rettig joins Polygon Labs as the firm’s chief policy officer.
Rettig took to Twitter to inform her followers about her new position. She wrote that she was excited about joining Polygon Labs to lead the firm’s efforts to develop good policies that will allow the Web3 ecosystem to prosper. She acknowledged that the vital thing the crypto industry needed now was getting policies right.
DOJ Seeks to Find Out Silvergate’s Role in FTX’s Collapse
The Department of Justice recently announced that it was investigating how Silvergate handled bank accounts linked to the now-bankrupt exchange FTX and its sister firm Alameda Research. The former billionaire, Sam Bankman-Fried, managed both companies.
Silvergate reported that its crypto-related deposits were heavily affected when FTX crashed last November. At that time, Silvergate had to borrow a loan from Federal Home Loan Bank to process withdrawals. The bank revealed that crypto deposits had fallen by about $8.1 billion in the final quarter of its fiscal year.
US lawmakers John Kennedy and Elizabeth Warren have criticized Silvergate for introducing risks related to crypto into the traditional bank system. In addition, the pair demands the bank’s leadership to avail the necessary information to the public that can help understand its role in the downfall of FTX.
Silvergate Posts a Huge Impairment Charge on Its Crypto Assets
Launched in 1988, Silvergate has recently increased its presence in the crypto industry. Last year, the bank bought assets worth $200 from Meta’s Diem stablecoin project. However, in its recent earnings report, Silvergate disclosed that it had suffered an impairment charge of $196 million on the assets it had purchased.
The bank now says it has paused plans to launch its blockchain-based payment solution due to the current crypto environment. Elsewhere, on Thursday morning, Silvergate’s stock price had dropped by 9% and traded at $15.45 per share.