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Crypto Bank Silvergate Capital Corp announced plans on 9 March to cease operations and voluntarily liquidate, citing recent industry and regulatory developments. The decision comes after the bank suffered substantial losses following the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Silvergate warned last week that it was evaluating its ability to continue operating, disclosing that it had sold additional debt securities at a loss and that further losses could leave the bank “less than well capitalized.” The bank added that its decision to wind down operations included full repayment of deposits.

Crypto exchange Bybit will reportedly launch its new debit card, which will permit users to conduct fiat-based transactions by using their cryptocurrency holdings. Operating on the Mastercard network, the Bybit card enables the debiting of cryptocurrency balances to facilitate payments for goods and services, as well as cash withdrawals. Initially available as a free virtual card for online purchases, physical debit cards are expected to be launched in April 2023. The card will support Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, USD Coin and XRP, and will automatically convert balances into euros or pounds based on the user’s country of residence.

Argo Blockchain, a publicly-listed Bitcoin mining company, reported a 7% increase in its daily Bitcoin production in February despite the surge in network difficulty, which has reportedly reached an all-time high of 43 trillion on 25 February. According to the firm’s operational update on 7 March, it mined a total of 162 Bitcoins, or BTC equivalents last month. Cipher Mining and Marathon Digital are among other mining companies that have increased their Bitcoin production despite the rise in network difficulty.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken emergency action against BKCoin Management on 7 March, accusing the Miami-based investment adviser of raising $100 million from 55 investors to invest in cryptocurrency but instead using the funds to pay for luxury items and make Ponzi-like payments. The SEC has frozen assets and obtained other emergency relief against BKCoin. In addition, it is seeking permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and other remedies against the firm and one of its principals, Kevin Kang.

Silvergate Capital Corp announced on 3 March that it has made a risk-based decision to discontinue its crypto payments network, the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN), which provides round-the-clock transfers between investors and crypto exchanges. While other deposit-related services continue to operate, the announcement has caused a further decline in its share price, which had already hit a record low on 2 March. Notably, many cryptocurrency companies, including Coinbase Global and Galaxy Digital, have severed their partnerships with Silvergate following the bank’s warning of its ability to operate as a going concern.

The Australian government’s internal documents indicate that the process of legislating on crypto may extend beyond 2024. The documents suggest the government will issue consultation papers in Q2 2023 and hold stakeholder roundtables on crypto licensing and custody in Q3. Final submissions to the cabinet are unlikely to occur until late 2023, with potential delays pushing any decisions on crypto legislation into 2024 and beyond. The country’s Treasury Department anticipates that crypto businesses and consumer groups may become frustrated with the prolonged timeline for implementing a licensing regime. However, it is suggested that weak demand for cryptocurrencies following FTX’s collapse, as well as the current market conditions resulting in lower consumer demand, could allow for more time to finalize regulations.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has expressed his concerns about the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) regulation through an “enforcement” approach towards the crypto industry. According to Garlinghouse, the SEC’s enforcement approach is not a healthy way to regulate the industry and may cause the US to become less attractive to cryptocurrency companies. He added that the industry has already started moving out of the US, where the regulatory process is behind other countries such as Japan, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, and the UK.

Nationwide Building Society and HSBC Holdings Plc have reportedly prohibited retail customers from purchasing cryptocurrencies with credit cards. This decision came as a response to warnings issued by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and recent scandals in the crypto industry. Nationwide has also set a daily limit of £5,000 ($5,965) on debit-card purchases of crypto assets. Other banks in the UK, such as Santander, Natwest Group, and Lloyds Banking Group, have similarly imposed restrictions on cryptocurrency services, most notably on the crypto exchange Binance.

In response to enquiries from Cointelegraph, the spokesperson of Binance denied that the crypto exchange had any plans to lay off staff and said it sought to fill 500 new roles by the end of June. The statement came in contrast to a spate of layoffs in the crypto industry in January. Since the beginning of 2023, Binance has already hired over 600 people, and CEO Changpeng Zhao has revealed plans for a hiring spree in 2023 that would increase the exchange’s headcount by 15% to 30%.

US-based crypto exchange Coinbase has reportedly severed its ties with Silvergate Bank as its USD banking partner, citing an ongoing investigation. Instead, Coinbase will use Signature Bank to facilitate institutional client cash transactions for its prime customers. The severance will have no impact on payments in pounds or euros. JP Morgan downgraded Silvergate Capital from “neutral” to “underweight” due to insolvency concerns. This came on top of existing stress caused by the delay in filing its annual report, which also caused Silvergate Bank’s stocks to fall another 40% in pre-market trading.

The French National Assembly has reportedly passed a bill relating to stricter licensing rules for new crypto companies to align with proposed EU standards. The bill mandates France-based VASPs to adhere to stricter anti-money laundering regulations, segregate customer funds, provide more detailed risk and conflict of interest disclosures, and comply with new reporting guidelines to regulators. However, the law does not apply to the 60 crypto companies already registered with the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). The bill is awaiting President Emmanuel Macron’s approval and would only apply to crypto companies that register from July 2022 onwards.

Visa and Mastercard have reportedly decided to delay launching new partnerships with crypto companies until there is more clarity in the regulatory framework and the market conditions improve. The spokesperson at Visa stated that the recent high-profile failures in the crypto industry served as an important reminder that there was still a significant amount of work to be done before crypto could be widely adopted as a part of mainstream payments and financial services. However, Visa’s head of product, Cuy Sheffield, disputed the accuracy of the recent report, affirming that Visa remains committed to partnering with crypto companies to improve fiat on/off ramps and develop new products to facilitate stablecoin payments that are secure, compliant, and user-friendly.