Silvergate Bank (NYSE: SI), a crypto-focused bank, reported excellent for the first quarter of 2022 on Tuesday, April 19. As a result, the bank’s SI stock experienced its biggest gain in more than a month.
The Silvergate Bank (SI) stock jumped 13.21% on Tuesday, its biggest single-day jump since March 9. The SI stock concluded Tuesday’s trading session at $131.67 level.
The crypto-focused bank reported 79 cents in earnings-per-share (EPS) for the first quarter of 2022. This was 75% higher than the Street estimate of 45 cents. Furthermore, the bank recorded a 36% increase in the number of digital currency customers, which jumped to 1503. Michael Perito of KBW wrote to investors in a note:
“The combination of higher rates plus Silvergate’s ability to put cash to work in higher yielding assets should have a dramatic impact on the bank’s earnings power moving forward as shown in the first quarter”.
Silvergate Bank is Expanding
Amid strong surge in the number of crypto users, the bank is seeing a similar surge in its business. Despite the fact that the broader crypto market had a bumpy start to this year, average crypto deposits at the bank have increased to $14.7 billion.
At the same time the bank’s Bitcoin-collateralized crypto loans business nearly doubled. Silvergate Bank’s Exchange Network Leverage Program provides Bitcoin-collateralized dollar loans. This program’s commitments surged to $1.1 billion.
Recently, Silvergate Bank offered MicroStrategy a $205 million loan backed by $800 million worth of Bitcoin collateral. This year, the SI stock has remained volatile while largely tracking the BTC fluctuation. Alan Lane, president and chief executive officer of Silvergate, commented on the development:
“We started off 2022 on a strong note, driven by the power of our platform and continued progress on our strategic initiatives. I’m particularly pleased with our first quarter results when you consider that this was one of the most challenging periods for the broader crypto ecosystem since the beginning of the pandemic.
While volume on the Silvergate Exchange Network was impacted by broader industry trends, I remain encouraged by the continued growth we saw in customers, SEN Leverage commitments, and average deposits, which reached a record $14.7 billion”.