Crypto ecosystem participants have diverse views and beliefs about which projects/coins will win, and infrastructure providers like Silvergate and BlockFi focus on providing neutral platforms rather than picking winners.

In banking, the optimal role is to help customers solve problems and then 'get out of the way' to allow them to build their businesses, rather than trying to influence their strategic decisions.

The crypto industry is still in early innings despite growth, with many traditional bankers remaining hesitant to enter due to perceived novelty, unknown risks, and current global challenges.

Silvergate serves as the bridge between traditional banking infrastructure that operates 40 hours per week and cryptocurrency markets that operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, making it the first bank to bring weekly-only banking into 24/7 crypto markets.

Silvergate's Exchange Network has processed $100 billion in lifetime transaction volume since its 2017 launch, with $76 billion of that occurring in 2021 alone, and $36 billion of the 2021 total occurring in Q3 2021, demonstrating accelerating institutional adoption.

Central bank digital currencies will enable direct stimulus to consumers rather than flowing through the traditional banking system, creating a fundamentally different monetary transmission mechanism and giving central banks new policy tools.

Silvergate is involved in conversations about interoperability between central bank digital currencies and is deeply engaged with all U.S. regulated stablecoin projects, positioning the company at the epicenter of emerging digital currency infrastructure.

Bitcoin is described as 'the most pristine collateral ever created' and can be custodied and used as collateral for lending products by banks.

The OCC (U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) has recently ruled that banks can custody Bitcoin and digital currencies, providing regulatory validation for banking services in crypto.

PayPal's launch of Bitcoin purchase capabilities represents a significant milestone in mainstream adoption, with Alan Lane purchasing $100 worth of Bitcoin on PayPal and observing it appreciate to $117 within approximately one week.

Silvergate is referred to as 'crypto's bank' in industry terminology but was concerned that not having a formal partnership with Real Vision would constitute a public relations failure given its central role in the crypto ecosystem.