The Biden administration is keeping an eye on Silvergate Bank's predicament, comparing it to those at other cryptocurrency organizations, and President Joe Biden has urged Congress to take action in this regard, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Jean-Pierre said she couldn't speak to Silvergate specifically during her White House press briefing on Monday, but she did note that a number of cryptocurrency businesses have "experienced[d] significant issues" lately. She also cited statements from federal bank regulators cautioning about the risk cryptocurrencies could pose to banks and other financial institutions.
"In recent weeks banking regulators have released guidelines on how banks should protect themselves from risks associated with crypto... as you know, this is a president that has repeatedly called on Congress to take action to protect everyday Americans from the risk posted by digital assets and he will continue to do so."
A 24/7 internal settlement mechanism that Silvergate's clients may use to interact with one another on the weekends or other times when regular banking services could be unavailable was shutting down, the bank stated last Friday.
The decision comes days after Silvergate stated it would delay releasing its annual report, and claimed that it may have bank regulator, Department of Justice and other inquiries to answer and that its capacity to be a "going concern" for the next 12 months may be in doubt.
