Benzinga | Feb 26, 2021 10:04AM EST

Bitcoin Bank Silvergate Capital Shares Are Up Over 1000% In A Year

What Happened: Digital asset bank Silvergate Capital Corporation (NYSE:SI)'s shares are up 120% since January and over 1300% since it first went public in November 2019.

The boom in crypto prices is largely believed to have influenced Silvergate's shares to appreciate in the way that it has over the past few months.

The bank, which has close to $5 billion in cryptocurrency-backed deposits, lets its clients transfer dollars to cryptocurrency exchanges at any time through its Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN).

Why It Matters: Silvergate's clients include major crypto exchange and wallet firm Coinbase, which plans to go public later this year, and Square Inc (NYSE:SQ), which recently announced a $170 million Bitcoin purchase.

"Suffice it to say that we are one of only a few banks working in bitcoin, so we hope to be involved with any businesses that want to be engaged in cryptocurrencies seriously," Lane told CNN earlier this week.

Unlike traditional financial markets, crypto markets are open for trading 24/7, which inherently makes markets more liquid.

Reportedly, the Silvergate Exchange Network has processed over $100 billion in transfers since 2017.

What Else: Silvergate only recently became a publicly-traded company, and its market cap remains relatively small.

Much like other "Bitcoin stocks," such as Marathon Patent Group Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) and Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT), its share price moves in tandem with the price of Bitcoin.

As larger institutions like Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK) offer crypto custodial services, Silvergate could see increased competition despite its relatively early entry into the market.

Price Action: Silvergate Capital shares were trading at $137.52, up 5.46%, at press time.

Bitcoin price gained 0.33% in price and was trading at $49,210.