US lawmakers renew request for answers from Silvergate on FTX: Report

Several United States senators have reportedly penned a letter requesting answers from Silvergate Capital — the parent company of Silvergate Bank — related to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

According to a Jan. 31 Bloomberg report, U.S. senators including Elizabeth Warren, Roger Marshall and John Kennedy said Silvergate had not fully answered questions in response to a December letter about its alleged role in handling FTX user funds. Silvergate reportedly cited restrictions on disclosing “confidential supervisory information” — a rationale the senators said was unacceptable.

“Both Congress and the public need and deserve the information necessary to understand Silvergate’s role in FTX’s fraudulent collapse, particularly given the fact that Silvergate turned to the Federal Home Loan Bank as its lender of last resort in 2022,” said the letter, according to Bloomberg.

Warren, Marshall and Kennedy signed their names onto a 2022 letter giving Silvergate until Dec. 19 to provide lawmakers answers on its involvement in the FTX debacle. However, the senators reportedly said the firm had left out crucial information necessary to determine Silvergate’s role in FTX’s alleged fraud, including whether it mishandled transferring FTX user assets to Alameda. 

Following the liquidity crisis and bankruptcy filing of FTX in November 2022 — and prior to the arrest of former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried — Warren and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse called on the Justice Department to investigate the collapse of the crypto exchange and consider prosecuting certain individuals. The recent letter gave Silvergate until Feb. 13 to submit a response, including on the company’s due diligence practices.

Related: Silvergate sold assets at loss and cut staff to cover $8.1B in withdrawals: Report

Members of Congress have been organizing for their 118th session after Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives were unable to come to an agreement to elect the next speaker for days, delaying committee assignments and legislation. Senators and House members conducted hearings exploring the downfall of FTX in December, with leadership suggesting at the time that the investigation would continue in 2023.