Silvergate Bank partners with Elliptic to automate KYC for crypto businesses

By Pavithra R

Elliptic, a leading provider of crypto-asset risk management and blockchain analytics solutions, has announced that 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.

The collaboration supports 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.

“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. 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,” said Kate Fraher, COO of Silvergate.

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 will continue to scale its business, deliver an efficient customer onboarding experience, and manage the escalating cost of compliance as the industry demand for banking services accelerates.

“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 mainstream,” said Simone Maini, CEO of Elliptic.

“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,” added Simone Maini.