Silvergate Bank, the leading provider of financial infrastructure solutions and services for the growing digital currency industry, has integrated Elliptic's cryptoasset risk management and blockchain analytics, into its platform to serve more virtual asset services providers (VASPs) and other crypto businesses.
This partnership will support Silvergate's risk-based compliance framework through Elliptic Lens, which screens customers before opening accounts, and Elliptic Discovery, which assesses financial crime risk when engaging with digital currency exchanges.
Since 2013, when it launched its digital currency initiative, Silvergate has accumulated 1,100+ digital currency and fintech customers. By automating risk screening at VASP and wallet levels, Silvergate can continue to scale its business, deliver an efficient customer onboarding experience, and manage the rising cost of compliance as the industry demand for banking services accelerates.
"Most banks take a one-size-fits-all stance when it comes to crypto businesses deeming them too risky to bank. This is a narrow view as the digital currency industry continues to grow," said Kate Fraher, COO of Silvergate. "Applying rigorous controls to risk-based KYC and due diligence is possible through the depth and accuracy of risk exposure data that Elliptic provides on crypto businesses."
Simone Maini, CEO of Elliptic, says, "Silvergate Bank has always had the foresight to enable innovation in financial services,providing access to banking services for fast-growing fintech and crypto businesses that need capital and accounts to operate their businesses. Silvergate knows this is critical to the overall development and maturation of crypto as it mainstreams."
She adds, "Silvergate's banking solutions are supported by a deep-rooted commitment and proprietary approach to regulatory compliance reinforced by Elliptic's crypto risk data and insights. By having a way to assess a customer's risk exposure to crypto, Silvergate can make risk-based decisions in line with its policies and controls so it can confidently onboard new crypto customers."
As the world prepares for a digitized global monetary system, financial institutions are relying on solutions like Elliptic Discovery to assess financial crime risk when engaging with crypto exchanges, custodians, and other crypto asset businesses. Elliptic Lens drills down to screen crypto wallets in real-time to uncover links to money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctioned entities when onboarding customers or to support ongoing due diligence.
