Former Chairman of Silvergate Bank Mike Lempres joins us for a discussion of Silvergate, the crypto-focused bank that was forced into liquidation in early 2023 following a bank run. This are the first on the record comments from any Silvergate executive following the voluntary liquidation announced in March 2023. In this episode:

• Mike’s background at the DoJ, at Coinbase, and how he came to be chairman of the board at Silvergate
• How Silvergate grew to become the premier crypto-focused bank with $14b in deposits
• Why the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) was so useful to the crypto space
• How Silvergate suffered a bank run and ultimate liquidation following the FTX collapse
• How Silvergate survived a 70% bank run
• Regulatory shifts in 2023
• What led the decision to voluntarily liquidate
• What has happened at Silvergate since the announcement of the liquidation?
• The effect of Elizabeth Warren’s letters and short seller behavior on the collapse
• Could Silvergate have survived and thrived?
• Should bank regulators be allowed to ringfence entire industries?
• Silvergate’s relationship with Alameda/FTX - and could they have detected the fraud?
• Was Silvergate a victim of FTX
• How the Signature case adds to the suspicion - were regulators sending a message?
• What was the issue with SEN monitoring?
• Silvergate’s settlements with the Fed, the SEC, and the CA DFP
• How Silvergate was rugpulled by the government with regards to Diem
• The Fed’s recent evolution on the topic of banks serving crypto
• Mike’s outlook on crypto banking and the domestic crypto industry
• Why Signature and Silvergate executives are limited in what they can say publicly
• The problem with “confidential supervisory information”
• Why we may not get a “smoking gun memo” from the regulators on Choke Point 2.0
• What changes would Mike make to bank regulation in the US?
• Lingering misconceptions about Silvergate
• Do Silvergate shareholders have a legal case against the government?

Further reading:

• Nic Carter in Piratewires, Operation Choke Point 2.0 Is Underway, And Crypto Is In Its Crosshairs 
• Nic Carter in Piratewires, Did The Government Start A Global Financial Crisis In An Attempt To Destroy Crypto?
• Nic Carter in Piratewires,  Inside the Biden Admin’s Plot to Destroy Silvergate and Debank Crypto for Good