Silvergate Capital Corp (SI) 2022 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello, everyone and welcome to the Silvergate Capital Corporation Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Victoria and I will be coordinating your call today. (Operator Instructions)

大家好，歡迎參加 Silvergate Capital Corporation 2022 年第二季度收益電話會議。我的名字是維多利亞，今天我將協調你的電話。 （操作員說明）

I'll now pass over to Hunter Stenback to begin. Please go ahead.

我現在將由 Hunter Stenback 開始。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate your participation in the Silvergate Capital Corporation second quarter 2022 earnings call. With me here today are Alan Lane, our Chief Executive Officer; Tony Martino, our Chief Financial Officer and Ben Reynolds, our Chief Strategy Officer. As a reminder, a telephonic replay of this call will be available through 11:59 PM Eastern Time on August 2nd, 2022. Access to the replay is also available on the Investor Relation section of our website. Additionally, a slide deck to complement today's discussion is available on the IR section of our website.

謝謝接線員，大家早上好。感謝您參加 Silvergate Capital Corporation 2022 年第二季度財報電話會議。今天和我在一起的還有我們的首席執行官艾倫·萊恩；我們的首席財務官 Tony Martino 和首席戰略官 Ben Reynolds。提醒一下，該電話的重播將在東部時間 2022 年 8 月 2 日晚上 11:59 之前提供。重播也可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分獲得。此外，我們網站的 IR 部分還提供了一個幻燈片來補充今天的討論。

Before we begin, let me remind everyone that this call may contain certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include remarks about management's future expectations, beliefs, estimates, plans and prospects.

在開始之前，讓我提醒大家，本次電話會議可能包含構成 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述的某些陳述。其中包括有關管理層未來預期、信念、估計、計劃和前景的評論。

Such statements are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by such statements. Such risks and other factors are set forth in our periodic and current reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake any duty to update such forward-looking statements.

此類陳述受各種風險、不確定性和其他因素的影響，包括可能導致實際結果與此類陳述所表明或暗示的結果大不相同的 COVID-19 大流行。這些風險和其他因素在我們提交給證券交易委員會的定期報告和當前報告中列出。我們不承擔更新此類前瞻性陳述的任何義務。

Now I would like to turn the call over to Alan.

現在我想把電話轉給艾倫。

Thank you, Hunter and good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to share our strong second quarter results with you today. I am especially proud of our results this quarter in light of the challenging backdrop facing the broader digital asset ecosystem, driven by our diverse revenue streams, Silvergate delivered record net income available to common shareholders of $35.9 million, an increase of 45% since last quarter and EPS of $1.13 per share, an increase of 43% from last quarter.

謝謝你，亨特，大家早上好。我很高興今天與您分享我們強勁的第二季度業績。鑑於更廣泛的數字資產生態系統面臨的挑戰背景，我對本季度的業績感到特別自豪，在我們多樣化的收入來源的推動下，Silvergate 為普通股股東提供創紀錄的淨收入 3590 萬美元，比上一季度增長 45%每股收益為 1.13 美元，比上一季度增長 43%。

Notably, net interest income of $70.5 million increased $20.1 million compared to the first quarter as we benefited from the rising interest rate environment, which Tony will touch on in more detail. In times like this, it's important to highlight what differentiates Silvergate. Our platform was built to support our clients in this relatively nascent industry during periods of high volumes, market volatility and transformation just like we're seeing today. The Silvergate Exchange Network or SEN, our highly scalable technology platform that operates 24/7, 365 underpins our offering and serves as critical market infrastructure.

值得注意的是，與第一季度相比，我們受益於不斷上升的利率環境，淨利息收入為 7050 萬美元，增加了 2010 萬美元，托尼將更詳細地談到這一點。在這種情況下，重要的是要突出 Silvergate 的不同之處。我們的平台旨在為我們在這個相對新生的行業中的客戶提供支持，就像我們今天看到的那樣，在交易量大、市場波動和轉型時期。 Silvergate 交換網絡或 SEN 是我們高度可擴展的技術平台，可 24/7、365 全天候運行，支持我們的產品並充當關鍵的市場基礎設施。

We've experienced high volume and significant volatility many time since we started banking this industry over 8 years ago and I'm sure this won't be the last. In fact, it was this experience of ever increasing peak volumes and volatility which informed the creation of the SEN and influenced how we manage customer deposits and liquidity.

自從我們在 8 多年前開始為這個行業提供銀行服務以來，我們已經多次經歷過高交易量和劇烈波動，我相信這不會是最後一次。事實上，正是這種不斷增加的峰值交易量和波動性的經驗為 SEN 的創建提供了信息，並影響了我們管理客戶存款和流動性的方式。

Our balance sheet is optimized for client liquidity and risk management practices are at the forefront in all aspects of our business. As a regulated bank, we take compliance seriously and our robust risk management framework ensures we are well prepared for any market environment. Finally, we take a disciplined approach to innovation. As we have always done, our goal is to introduce new products that solve problems for our customers and increase the value of our franchise, while also managing risk.

我們的資產負債表針對客戶流動性進行了優化，風險管理實踐在我們業務的各個方面都處於最前沿。作為一家受監管的銀行，我們認真對待合規性，我們穩健的風險管理框架確保我們為任何市場環境做好充分準備。最後，我們採取嚴格的創新方法。正如我們一直所做的那樣，我們的目標是推出新產品，為我們的客戶解決問題，增加我們的特許經營價值，同時管理風險。

Now I'd like to provide a bit more detail on some of our key metrics. As we have done over the past few quarters, we continue to work with coin metrics to better understand how activity on the SEN is correlated with a broader digital asset industry. According to coin metrics data, in the second quarter both Bitcoin and Ethereum dollar trading volumes were relatively flat. Despite these trend, the SEN saw some of it's highest daily trading volumes ever during the second quarter, with transfer volume of $191 billion, an increase of 34% on a sequential basis.

現在我想提供一些關於我們的一些關鍵指標的更多細節。正如我們在過去幾個季度所做的那樣，我們繼續使用硬幣指標來更好地了解 SEN 上的活動如何與更廣泛的數字資產行業相關聯。根據硬幣指標數據，第二季度比特幣和以太坊美元的交易量都相對持平。儘管有這些趨勢，但 SEN 在第二季度的一些日交易量達到了有史以來的最高水平，轉賬量為 1910 億美元，環比增長 34%。

Average deposits from digital currency customers declined to $13.8 billion in the second quarter, compared to $14.7 billion last quarter. That said, average deposits throughout the quarter were higher than end of period deposits in Q1. We saw a significant range of deposits during the quarter from a high of $17.6 billion to a low of $12.6 billion, which we believe was caused by the significant dislocation that occurred within the broader ecosystem that was in part impacted by the collapse of various digital asset platforms.

第二季度數字貨幣客戶的平均存款下降至 138 億美元，而上一季度為 147 億美元。也就是說，整個季度的平均存款高於第一季度的期末存款。我們在本季度看到大量存款，從 176 億美元的高位到 126 億美元的低位，我們認為這是由於更廣泛的生態系統中發生的嚴重錯位造成的，部分原因是各種數字資產的崩潰平台。

However, Silvergate did not experience any loss of customers, deposits or capital as a result of these event, a testament to the power of our model and our robust risk management framework. The number of digital currency customers increased to 1,585 in the second quarter, an increase of over 300 customers since the same quarter last year. We added over 80 clients during the quarter, a decline when compared to Q1, but consistent with the average clients added per quarter in the second half of 2021, as we continue our focus on adding high-quality clients that bring the most value to our platform. Our pipeline of potential new digital currency customers remains robust with over 300 prospects.

然而，Silvergate 並未因這些事件而遭受任何客戶、存款或資本損失，這證明了我們模型的力量和我們強大的風險管理框架。第二季度數字貨幣客戶數量增至 1,585 家，比去年同期增加了 300 多家。我們在本季度增加了 80 多家客戶，與第一季度相比有所下降，但與 2021 年下半年每季度增加的平均客戶數量一致，因為我們繼續專注於增加為我們帶來最大價值的優質客戶平台。我們的潛在新數字貨幣客戶渠道仍然強勁，擁有 300 多個潛在客戶。

Turning to SEN Leverage, our Bitcoin collateralized lending product, we saw continued strong demand for the product with total approved commitments growing 28% to $1.4 billion compared to $1.1 billion at the end of the first quarter. In addition, we experienced a range of outstanding SEN leverage balances during the quarter between 303 and $732 million, with an average outstanding balance of $560 million.

談到我們的比特幣抵押貸款產品 SEN Leverage，我們看到對該產品的持續強勁需求，批准的承諾總額從第一季度末的 11 億美元增長 28% 至 14 億美元。此外，我們在本季度經歷了一系列未償 SEN 槓桿餘額，介於 303 至 7.32 億美元之間，平均未償餘額為 5.6 億美元。

Importantly, all of our SEN Leverage loans performed as expected with no losses or forced liquidations. As a reminder, by design, these loans are over collateralized and our customers have the ability to draw, pay down or pledge additional Bitcoin as collateral to comply with the terms of their loan agreement 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

重要的是，我們所有的 SEN Leverage 貸款都按預期執行，沒有損失或強制清算。提醒一下，這些貸款在設計上是過度抵押的，我們的客戶可以每週 7 天、每天 24 小時提取、償還或抵押額外的比特幣作為抵押品，以遵守其貸款協議的條款。

Finally, I want to provide an update on our stablecoin infrastructure initiative. Following our announcement in January that we acquired select blockchain-based payment technology assets from the Diem Group, we are still on track to launch our own US dollar backed stablecoin in 2022. We look forward to updating you on this initiative in the coming months. I am extremely proud of our accomplishments this quarter amidst the challenging environment in the digital asset industry. I look forward to providing further updates on our progress in the second half of the year.

最後，我想提供有關我們穩定幣基礎設施計劃的最新信息。繼我們在 1 月份宣布從 Diem Group 收購精選的基於區塊鏈的支付技術資產之後，我們仍有望在 2022 年推出我們自己的美元支持的穩定幣。我們期待在未來幾個月內向您更新這一舉措。在數字資產行業充滿挑戰的環境中，我為本季度取得的成就感到非常自豪。我期待在下半年提供有關我們進展的進一步更新。

I'll now turn it over to Tony to review our financial results in more detail, before we take your questions. Tony?

在我們回答您的問題之前，我現在將把它交給托尼來更詳細地審查我們的財務業績。托尼?

Thank you, Alan and good morning, everyone. Starting on Slide 5, with our key financial results. Despite a challenging environment in the overall digital asset industry, Silvergate reported record second quarter net income available to common shareholders of $35.9 million or $1.13 per diluted common share, compared to $24.7 million or $0.79 per diluted share in the first quarter and up from $20.9 million or $0.80 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2021.

謝謝你，艾倫，大家早上好。從幻燈片 5 開始，展示我們的主要財務業績。儘管整個數字資產行業的環境充滿挑戰，Silvergate 報告稱，第二季度普通股股東可獲得創紀錄的淨收入為 3590 萬美元或稀釋後普通股每股 1.13 美元，而第一季度為 2470 萬美元或每股稀釋後普通股 0.79 美元，高於 2090 萬美元或 2021 年第二季度攤薄後每股 0.80 美元。

Revenue of $79.8 million was up 33% compared to the first quarter and up 88% compared to the same quarter year ago, driven by higher net interest income, which I will discuss in more detail later on. Total assets of $15.8 billion remained relatively stable to the prior quarter and increased 29% compared to the second quarter of 2021.

受淨利息收入增加的推動，收入為 7980 萬美元，與第一季度相比增長 33%，與去年同期相比增長 88%，我將在稍後詳細討論。 158 億美元的總資產與上一季度相比保持相對穩定，與 2021 年第二季度相比增長了 29%。

Next on Slide 6, as Alan mentioned, average digital currency customer deposits were $13.8 billion in the quarter, down 6% compared to last quarter. As in previous quarters, our deposits from digital currency customers can fluctuate significantly as evidenced by high and low daily total digital currency deposit levels of 17.6 and $12.6 billion respectively during the quarter.

接下來在幻燈片 6 上，正如 Alan 所提到的，本季度數字貨幣客戶的平均存款為 138 億美元，與上一季度相比下降了 6%。與前幾個季度一樣，我們來自數字貨幣客戶的存款可能會大幅波動，本季度每日數字貨幣存款總額的高低分別為 17.6 億美元和 126 億美元。

To reiterate, we believe this wide range of deposits was a result of significant dislocation that occurred throughout the broader ecosystem, which was in part impacted by the collapse of various digital asset platforms. Similar to previous quarters, our weighted average cost of deposits for the quarter was essentially 0 reflecting our efficient digital currency deposit gathering strategy.

重申一下，我們認為這種廣泛的存款是整個更廣泛的生態系統發生重大錯位的結果，這部分是受到各種數字資產平台崩潰的影響。與前幾個季度類似，我們本季度的加權平均存款成本基本上為 0，反映了我們高效的數字貨幣存款收集策略。

Turning to Slide 7, net interest income was $70.5 million in the second quarter, an increase of $20.1 million compared to the first quarter and $40.2 million compared to the second quarter of 2021, as we benefited from the rising rate environment. Net interest margin was 1.96% for the second quarter, compared to 1.36% in the first quarter and 1.16% in the second quarter of last year. The increase in NIM from the prior quarter was driven by the rising rate environment benefiting securities and loans.

轉到幻燈片 7，由於我們受益於利率上升的環境，第二季度的淨利息收入為 7050 萬美元，與第一季度相比增加了 2010 萬美元，與 2021 年第二季度相比增加了 4020 萬美元。第二季度淨息差為1.96%，而去年第一季度為1.36%，去年第二季度為1.16%。與上一季度相比，淨息差增加的原因是利率上升的環境有利於證券和貸款。

Our securities portfolio totaled $11.8 billion with a yield of 1.66% for the second quarter, down slightly from a balance of $12.2 billion at the end of the first quarter, with corresponding yield of 1.23%. Year-over-year, securities increased $5.6 billion. We continue to take an active and measured approach to balance sheet management, with an objective of maintaining a high quality securities portfolio to bolster net income in this rising rate environment, while mitigating risk.

第二季度我們的證券組合總額為 118 億美元，收益率為 1.66%，略低於第一季度末的餘額 122 億美元，相應收益率為 1.23%。與去年同期相比，證券增加了 56 億美元。我們繼續對資產負債表管理採取積極和審慎的方法，目標是維持高質量的證券投資組合，以在利率上升的環境中增加淨收入，同時降低風險。

Moving on to the loan portfolio, on a year-over-year basis, total loans were down $22 million or 1%, while SEN leverage and mortgage warehouse balances increased compared to the same period last year. As a reminder, we sold certain commercial real estate multifamily real estate and construction loans last quarter. The allowance for loan losses remained unchanged from the prior quarter by $4.4 million. As we've said in the past, our real estate lending portfolios are continuing to pay down and we are not originating new loans in these categories.

轉向貸款組合，與去年同期相比，總貸款減少了 2200 萬美元或 1%，而 SEN 槓桿和抵押倉庫餘額與去年同期相比有所增加。提醒一下，我們在上個季度出售了某些商業房地產多戶型房地產和建築貸款。貸款損失準備金與上一季度相比保持不變，為 440 萬美元。正如我們過去所說，我們的房地產貸款組合正在繼續償還，我們不會在這些類別中發放新貸款。

As we discussed last quarter, we are currently operating in a rising rate environment. Silvergate continues to be well positioned for further rate hikes. As of June 30, 2022, approximately 55% of our securities are floating rate. Additionally, approximately 88% of our loans held for investment were floating rate and a substantial majority of our SEN leverage and mortgage warehouse loans are floating rate. To give you a sense of our current interest rate sensitivity, assuming static balance sheet and a positive 25 basis point interest rate shock, net interest income is estimated to increase approximately $16 million over 12-month period.

正如我們上個季度所討論的，我們目前正處於利率上升的環境中。 Silvergate 繼續為進一步加息做好準備。截至 2022 年 6 月 30 日，我們約 55% 的證券為浮動利率。此外，我們持有的投資貸款中約有 88% 為浮動利率，我們的 SEN 槓桿和抵押倉庫貸款中的絕大部分為浮動利率。為了讓您了解我們當前的利率敏感性，假設靜態資產負債表和 25 個基點的正利率衝擊，淨利息收入預計在 12 個月內增加約 1600 萬美元。

Turning to Slide 8, non-interest income for the second quarter of 2022 was $9.2 million, which was relatively flat compared to the prior quarter. The decline in non-interest income on a year-over-year basis was primarily related to a decrease of $2.5 million or 22% in deposit related fees, as a result of lower trading volumes across the broader industry.

轉到幻燈片 8，2022 年第二季度的非利息收入為 920 萬美元，與上一季度相比相對持平。由於整個行業的交易量下降，非利息收入同比下降主要與存款相關費用減少 250 萬美元或 22% 有關。

Slide 9 shows non-interest expense for the quarter of $30.6 million, up $2.5 million from the prior quarter and $9 million compared to the same quarter of last year. The increase in non-interest expense compared to the first quarter and prior year is primarily due to increases in salaries and employee benefits and professional services expenses, driven by continued investments in our strategic growth initiatives during the quarter.

幻燈片 9 顯示該季度的非利息支出為 3060 萬美元，比上一季度增加 250 萬美元，比去年同期增加 900 萬美元。與第一季度和去年同期相比，非利息費用的增加主要是由於本季度對我們戰略增長計劃的持續投資推動的工資、員工福利和專業服務費用的增加。

We will continue to make strategic investments throughout the second half of the year to support our growth and initiatives. As a result, we continue to expect full-year 2022 operating expenses to be in the range of approximately $130 million to $140 million excluding any intangible amortization. Overall, this was another strong quarter for Silvergate despite market volatility and I'm excited to continue our growth throughout the rest of the year.

我們將在下半年繼續進行戰略投資，以支持我們的增長和舉措。因此，我們繼續預計 2022 年全年運營費用將在約 1.3 億美元至 1.4 億美元之間，不包括任何無形攤銷。總體而言，儘管市場波動很大，但對於 Silvergate 來說，這是另一個強勁的季度，我很高興在今年餘下的時間裡繼續我們的增長。

With that, I would like to ask the operator to open up the line for any questions. Operator?

有了這個，我想請接線員打開線路以解決任何問題。操作員？

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Steven Alexopoulos of JPMorgan. Please go ahead.

謝謝你。 （操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自摩根大通的 Steven Alexopoulos。請繼續。

Wanted to start -- wanted to start with a big picture question. So if we look right, there was a sharp drop in crypto prices in the quarter, there were spillover effects right, Terrace, Celsius Voyager, lot of negative news in the space. And while it's happened before it's really the first time we're seeing this play out with institutions more in the ecosystem? Curious, how your institutional customers responding to all this and you're seeing any slowdown in them the appetite to go into the ecosystem?

想開始——想從一個大問題開始。因此，如果我們看對了，本季度加密貨幣價格急劇下跌，產生了溢出效應，Terrace，Celsius Voyager，該領域有很多負面消息。雖然它發生在它真的是我們第一次在生態系統中更多地與機構一起看到這種情況發生之前？好奇，您的機構客戶如何應對這一切，您是否看到他們進入生態系統的興趣有所放緩？

See, the short answer is no. We're not really seeing any slowdown and I think that's borne out by the combination of the number of clients we added in the quarter, plus the number of prospects we're still in the pipeline. And I think what we've experienced over the years and not just this last quarter, but over the last several years is as you know it takes quite a while for institutions to get to the point where they're ready to trade.

看，簡短的回答是否定的。我們並沒有真正看到任何放緩，我認為我們在本季度增加的客戶數量以及我們仍在籌備中的潛在客戶數量的結合證明了這一點。而且我認為我們多年來所經歷的不僅僅是上個季度，而且在過去幾年中，正如你所知，機構需要相當長的時間才能達到他們準備交易的地步。

And so it starts with watching this space for a while and then they start developing a thesis and then they start to seek the initial -- excuse me, the initial approval they need internally and then they start interacting with the other parties such as Silvergate and others, I mean, they might want to trade with. And so there is a big ramp up and I think many of the institutional players that haven't gotten in yet are looking at, there is pullback as an opportunity.

因此，首先要觀察這個空間一段時間，然後他們開始製定論文，然後他們開始尋求最初的——對不起，他們需要在內部獲得初步批准，然後他們開始與其他各方互動，例如 Silvergate 和其他人，我的意思是，他們可能想與之交易。所以有一個很大的增長，我認為許多還沒有進入的機構參與者正在考慮，有回調作為一個機會。

So that's the long-winded answer.

所以這是冗長的答案。

Okay. Alan, you betted this ecosystem probably longer than anybody on the call. Given, I know it's tough to know what deposits are going to do, right, because they are so volatile. But at this stage, what's your best guess, right, how this could play out? And what we might see for deposit growth in the second half?

好的。 Alan，你在這個生態系統下注的時間可能比跟注中的任何人都長。鑑於，我知道很難知道存款會做什麼，對，因為它們非常不穩定。但是在這個階段，你最好的猜測是什麼，對，這會如何發展？我們可能會看到下半年的存款增長情況？

Yes, I've learned a long time ago, Steve, do not try to make any predictions in this ecosystem. But what we can do is look back to history and see how our deposits, how our customers have grown in prior periods when there has been a pullback in the price of Bitcoin and other digital assets. And what we've seen is stability in our deposit base. We typically see during periods of high volume, rising prices, high volatility. We see deposits grow and then when things turn around as they have recently when we go down in prices and volumes start to shrink. I'm talking about transaction volumes, then we typically see our growth flatten out.

是的，我很久以前就知道，史蒂夫，不要試圖在這個生態系統中做出任何預測。但我們能做的是回顧歷史，看看我們的存款，我們的客戶在比特幣和其他數字資產價格回落的前期是如何增長的。我們所看到的是我們存款基礎的穩定性。我們通常會在交易量大、價格上漲、波動性大的時期看到。我們看到存款增長，然後當情況好轉時，就像最近價格下跌和交易量開始萎縮一樣。我說的是交易量，然後我們通常會看到我們的增長趨於平穩。

But we've not historically seen significant drawdowns and I think it's important to just double click on this for a second and it's because of the way our customers use the SEN. The SEN is the on-ramp and the off-ramp for the institutional players in this ecosystem. And so -- and as you know we've talked about this in prior conversations, we encourage our customers to only keep on the same platform what they need to run their business, whether that's an exchange and the way they think about liquidity for their customers and then the institutional investors et cetera.

但我們在歷史上沒有看到顯著的回撤，我認為雙擊它一秒鐘很重要，這是因為我們的客戶使用 SEN 的方式。 SEN 是該生態系統中機構參與者的入口和出口。所以——正如你知道的，我們在之前的對話中已經討論過這個問題，我們鼓勵我們的客戶只在同一個平台上保留他們經營業務所需的東西，無論是交易所還是他們考慮流動性的方式。客戶，然後是機構投資者等。

And so we typically see a lot of transaction volume during these periods of volatility, but we don't see the big drawdowns that I think everybody was expecting, of course, that's in the past. And as I said at the outset, we really don't try to predict the future, we just try to make sure that the platform is operating 24/7 and that we have strong -- a strong liquidity position so that we can serve our customers, whether they are looking to invest or whether they are looking to divest.

因此，在這些波動時期，我們通常會看到大量的交易量，但我們並沒有看到我認為每個人都期待的大幅回撤，當然，那是過去的事了。正如我在一開始所說的那樣，我們真的不試圖預測未來，我們只是努力確保平台 24/7 全天候運行，並且我們擁有強大的流動性頭寸，以便我們能夠為我們的客戶，無論他們是要投資還是要撤資。

Perfect. We will now take our next question coming from Will Nance at Goldman Sachs.

完美的。我們現在將回答來自高盛的 Will Nance 的下一個問題。

Congrats on the nice quarter. I wanted to kind of follow-up on Steve's question on the deposit trends, clearly a wide range of daily balances in the quarter this quarter, given all of the volatility that we saw in the quarter. One of the most common questions that we get is just how to think about X, Y, Z event happening in the put though ecosystem and how that impacts your deposits? And so I was wondering if you could just provide a little bit more color on just the cadence of deposits throughout the quarter. What -- was there anything in particular that you saw that drove kind of like trends throughout the quarter and just maybe help us think in the future when we see kind of more volatility in the space?

恭喜這個美好的季度。鑑於我們在本季度看到的所有波動，我想對史蒂夫關於存款趨勢的問題進行跟進，顯然本季度本季度的每日餘額範圍很廣。我們得到的最常見的問題之一是如何考慮在看跌期權生態系統中發生的 X、Y、Z 事件以及它如何影響您的存款？所以我想知道你是否可以在整個季度的存款節奏上提供更多的顏色。什麼——你有沒有看到什麼特別的東西推動了整個季度的類似趨勢，當我們看到該領域的波動更大時，也許可以幫助我們思考未來？

Yes, well, maybe since I've already addressed part of this in the answer to the previous question, maybe I'll turn it over to Ben and see if he has any additional color, he think -- he thinks is relevant to your question. Thanks.

是的，好吧，也許因為我已經在上一個問題的答案中解決了部分問題，也許我會把它交給本，看看他是否有任何額外的顏色，他認為 - 他認為與你的相關問題。謝謝。

Yes, thanks for the question, Will. I think that just to sort of level set on a period-end basis, if we use Bitcoin as a proxy and look at the price on March 31st, the price of bitcoin was $45,000 roughly. And at the end of June, the price of Bitcoin was about $20,000. And so we've seen incredible deterioration of the overall market value of the underlying during the quarter. Also, if you look at volumes for the second quarter and you compare -- they were up compared to the first quarter. But if you compare them to the fourth quarter, they were still down about 28% on the year.

是的，謝謝你的問題，威爾。我認為只是在期末設定的水平，如果我們使用比特幣作為代理並查看 3 月 31 日的價格，比特幣的價格大約是 45,000 美元。而在 6 月底，比特幣的價格約為 20,000 美元。因此，我們看到本季度基礎資產的整體市場價值出現了令人難以置信的惡化。此外，如果您查看第二季度的交易量並進行比較 - 它們與第一季度相比有所上升。但如果將它們與第四季度進行比較，它們仍同比下降了約 28%。

So as Alan mentioned, it's really difficult for us to look out in the second half and know how the underlying is going to trade and what trends we're going to see. But more directly to your question, we know that Silvergate is a product-driven company and we saw the benefits of the SEN in the second quarter as our customers were trying to get in and out of positions related to the collapse of different assets and different platforms.

所以正如 Alan 所提到的，我們真的很難在下半年看到並知道底層將如何交易以及我們將看到什麼趨勢。但更直接地回答您的問題，我們知道 Silvergate 是一家產品驅動型公司，我們在第二季度看到了 SEN 的好處，因為我們的客戶試圖進出與不同資產和不同資產崩潰相關的職位。平台。

And what we saw during that time was that, there were arbitrage opportunities in the ecosystem and our customers who are some of the blue chip firms in the space or maybe all of the blue chip firms in the space who have balance sheets that they can put to work and certainly have the trading strategies to take advantage of those arbitrage opportunities did exactly that. And so it's really difficult to sort of say what is -- what could be the next shock in the system and what could be the potential outcome of that. But I think what folks should anchor on is the fact that we've just been through a very -- a period of tremendous turmoil and yet you all can see the results that we had in the second quarter.

我們在那段時間看到的是，生態系統中存在套利機會，我們的客戶是該領域的一些藍籌公司，或者可能是該領域的所有藍籌公司，他們擁有可以放置的資產負債表工作並且當然擁有利用這些套利機會的交易策略正是這樣做的。所以真的很難說是什麼——系統中的下一個衝擊可能是什麼，以及潛在的結果是什麼。但我認為人們應該關注的事實是，我們剛剛經歷了一個非常 - 一個巨大動蕩的時期，但你們都可以看到我們在第二季度取得的成果。

So we feel really good about the products that we built, about the platform that we built and about our liquidity and risk management practices. And so hard to know what's going to happen with deposits, but overall we feel good about our ability to deliver for our customers.

因此，我們對我們構建的產品、我們構建的平台以及我們的流動性和風險管理實踐感覺非常好。很難知道存款會發生什麼，但總的來說，我們對我們為客戶提供服務的能力感到滿意。

Got it. Super helpful. Appreciate that. And then I guess just a question on the SEN leverage commitment. Obviously, very nice growth in the commitment despite the decline in the balances and I heard the commentary on average balances during the quarter. So I think I'm all good there, but general question about how you're thinking about concentration levels of the SEN leverage commitments relative to overall capital? And any update on kind of like off-balance sheet alternatives for that? Or kind of how you're thinking about the ability just for -- to originate new commitments going forward?

知道了。超級有幫助。感謝。然後我想只是一個關於 SEN 槓桿承諾的問題。顯然，儘管餘額下降，但承諾的增長非常好，我聽到了關於本季度平均餘額的評論。所以我認為我在那裡一切都很好，但是關於您如何考慮相對於總資本的 SEN 槓桿承諾的集中度水平的一般性問題？以及類似表外替代方案的任何更新？或者你是如何看待這種能力的——在未來發起新的承諾？

Yes, I'll step back in and take this one, Will. So on SEN leverage, we couldn't be more pleased with the way the product has performed with the way our customers have performed with -- and again as Ben ended his comments around risk management, we're very bullish on SEN leverage over the long-term. And again, we don't have any control over how our customers use the product in terms of when they're in their lines and when they're not. But what we do know is that as there's been some areas of risk that have popped up in the broader ecosystem and everybody knows the old metaphor about when the tide goes out.

是的，我會退後一步拿下這個，威爾。因此，在 SEN 槓桿方面，我們對產品的表現方式與我們客戶的表現方式感到非常滿意——而且當 Ben 結束他關於風險管理的評論時，我們非常看好 SEN 槓桿在長期。再說一次，我們無法控制我們的客戶如何使用產品，無論他們何時在他們的生產線上，何時不在。但我們所知道的是，隨著更廣泛的生態系統中出現了一些風險領域，每個人都知道潮水何時退去的古老比喻。

We're actually having increasing conversations with potential borrowers, institutional borrowers who are looking at the fact that we don't rehypothecate the bitcoin collateral that we have a network of custodians for them to choose from in order to place the collateral in support of our loans to them. And so this is a product that -- and we've been saying now for the last 2 years ever since we launched it that we were going to take it slow and that initially now specifically to your question, initially we had thought about this as a percentage of our capital in terms of the concentration level.

實際上，我們正在與潛在藉款人、機構借款人進行越來越多的對話，他們正在考慮我們不會再抵押比特幣抵押品這一事實，我們有一個託管網絡供他們選擇，以便放置抵押品以支持我們的貸款給他們。所以這是一個產品——自從我們推出它以來的過去兩年裡，我們一直在說，我們會慢慢來，最初現在專門針對你的問題，最初我們認為這是就集中度而言，占我們資本的百分比。

Our -- as the product performs and as we get more data, it does give us increasing comfort to extend that, but we don't intend to go crazy with this. I don't think you're going to see this as multiples, high multiples of our capital base, but we'll continue to just use prudent risk management in the way we think about the concentration level. And I'll just go back and restate what I've said many times before, Bitcoin is a digital bearer asset. It is an asset that trades 24/7. And so when our customers lock up their bitcoin with one of our custodial partners so that we have access to be able to sell that bitcoin should we need to, then we think this is some of the best lending we've ever done.

我們的 - 隨著產品的性能和我們獲得更多數據，它確實讓我們更加舒適地擴展它，但我們不打算為此發瘋。我認為您不會將其視為我們資本基礎的倍數、高倍數，但我們將繼續在考慮集中度水平時使用審慎的風險管理。我將回頭重申我之前多次說過的話，比特幣是一種數字無記名資產。它是一種 24/7 全天候交易的資產。因此，當我們的客戶將他們的比特幣鎖定在我們的一個託管合作夥伴處，以便我們能夠在需要時出售比特幣時，我們認為這是我們做過的最好的貸款。

As we stated in our earlier comments, we have not yet had to force liquidate any of our customers and that's because we are always in an overcollateralized position. And when they want to access the additional collateral that they've pledged with us for other areas of their business, they pay down their loans proactively. So we're very excited about this product going forward.

正如我們在之前的評論中所說，我們還沒有強制清算我們的任何客戶，這是因為我們始終處於超額抵押的狀態。當他們想要獲得他們向我們承諾的其他業務領域的額外抵押品時，他們會主動償還貸款。因此，我們對這款產品的未來發展感到非常興奮。

Our next question comes from Michael Perito of KBW.

我們的下一個問題來自 KBW 的 Michael Perito。

I wanted to not to beat a dead horse here, but just on the deposits, I think there's been a lot of commentary around what the performance was in the quarter, how it's difficult to guide forward. But I was wondering if you could give us a little -- maybe these are just the conversations I'm having, but I think there is some perception that a lot of the deposits are all really kind of crypto hedge funds or investment vehicles and exchanges. And obviously, you guys disclosed some of that breakout. But as we think about the pipeline and some of the opportunities for growth moving forward if we just forget about numbers for a second just in general, you're seeing more corporations, big tech launch digital asset projects doing these things. And I was just wondering if you guys can spend a minute talking about some of the -- maybe the deposit growth opportunities that aren't necessarily just crypto hedge ones and exchanges, right, that could maybe be a little less correlated with the volatility of the crypto assets, but still be meaningful opportunities for you guys over time?

我不想在這裡打敗一匹死馬，但就存款而言，我認為有很多評論圍繞著本季度的表現，如何難以指導前進。但我想知道你能否給我們一點——也許這些只是我正在進行的對話，但我認為有一些看法認為，很多存款都是真正的加密對沖基金或投資工具和交易所.顯然，你們披露了一些突破。但是，當我們考慮管道和一些向前發展的機會時，如果我們只是暫時忘記數字，你會看到越來越多的公司、大型科技公司推出數字資產項目做這些事情。我只是想知道你們是否可以花一點時間談論一些——也許存款增長機會不一定只是加密貨幣對沖和交易所，對，這可能與加密資產，但隨著時間的推移對你們來說仍然是有意義的機會嗎？

Yes, Mike, I'm going to kick that one over to Ben as well for a little bit more market color.

是的，邁克，我也要把那個踢給本，以獲得更多的市場色彩。

Thanks for the question, Mike. So I mean, one of the areas that -- we saw some attention during the quarter was in the area of stablecoins. We -- as we talked about in the past with the assets that we acquired from Diem, we believe that the technology has the ability -- the blockchain itself has the ability to be used for payments. And if it's going to be used for payments in a commercial setting in commerce and in remittance, you really do need to have stable value which is kind of totally different than the promises or the use case for bitcoin and other digital assets that are potentially being more speculative in nature.

謝謝你的問題，邁克。所以我的意思是，我們在本季度看到一些關注的領域之一是穩定幣領域。我們——正如我們過去談到從 Diem 獲得的資產一樣，我們相信該技術有能力——區塊鏈本身有能力用於支付。如果要在商業和匯款的商業環境中用於支付，你確實需要有穩定的價值，這與比特幣和其他可能存在的數字資產的承諾或用例完全不同投機性更強。

And so as we continue to think about building out that technology and that payment system, I think we do -- and launching a stablecoin later this year, we see that as a potential driver for growth in deposits. That said and as we've said in the past, we continue to bank the regulated U.S. dollar fully backed projects that are in the space. Those business models today rely on the issuer earning a yield and we continue to not pay any interest on those deposits.

因此，當我們繼續考慮構建該技術和支付系統時，我認為我們會這樣做——並在今年晚些時候推出穩定幣，我們認為這是存款增長的潛在驅動力。也就是說，正如我們過去所說，我們繼續為該領域受監管的美元完全支持的項目提供銀行服務。今天的這些商業模式依賴於發行人賺取收益，我們繼續不對這些存款支付任何利息。

So we've actually seen a bit of an outflow from stablecoin issuers this year as they've looked for reserves and as rates have risen and as we've stuck to the point of we're not going to pay interest on these deposits. So there's a couple of puts and takes here, what those existing stablecoin issuers like about Silvergate is the SEN network and the 24/7 ability to get between dollars and a bank account in dollars on a blockchain. We don't think that that's going to go away. We want to continue to be the transactional bank for those projects. But as we look into the future, we really are excited about using this technology for payments and we think that, that will ultimately drive deposits in the medium to long-term.

因此，我們實際上已經看到今年穩定幣發行人的資金流出，因為他們一直在尋找准備金，利率上升，而且我們堅持不為這些存款支付利息。所以這裡有幾個看跌期權，那些現有的穩定幣發行人喜歡 Silvergate 的是 SEN 網絡和 24/7 全天候在美元和區塊鏈上的美元銀行賬戶之間獲取的能力。我們認為這不會消失。我們希望繼續成為這些項目的交易銀行。但展望未來，我們對使用這項技術進行支付感到非常興奮，我們認為這最終將推動中長期存款。

And then just a quick follow-up for Tony kind of in that light, just the $16 million for every 25 basis points, that was down a bit quarter-on-quarter presumably because of the change in earning asset mix, little lower cash balances versus the securities book. Obviously, that helped the NIM on an absolute basis. But just wondering if you guys could provide any color on how you're thinking about managing the earning asset mix of the balance sheet moving forward here, as rates continue to move higher, is it fair to think you guys might try and continue to keep the cash at lower levels and put some money to work in the bond book? Or were there some other fluctuations that might have impacted the mix this quarter that can normalize in the near future?

然後只是對托尼的快速跟進，每 25 個基點只需 1600 萬美元，這可能是由於收入資產組合的變化，現金餘額略有下降，環比下降了一點與證券簿相比。顯然，這絕對幫助了 NIM。但只是想知道你們是否可以提供任何顏色來說明你們如何考慮管理資產負債表的盈利資產組合，隨著利率繼續走高，認為你們可能會嘗試並繼續保持將較低水平的現金和一些資金投入到債券賬簿中？或者是否有其他一些波動可能會影響本季度的組合，並在不久的將來恢復正常？

Yes, thanks for the question, Mike. As you indicated, we did put a lot of liquidity to work during the quarter. So that's definitely a contribution. Looking out, I think the mix will depend on the evolution of the balance sheet going forward. In the short-term, the profile of the interest-earning assets is pretty consistent to where it was at last quarter. So we've got 55% of our securities at floating rates, 88% of our loans are at floating rates.

是的，謝謝你的問題，邁克。正如您所指出的，我們確實在本季度投入了大量流動性。所以這絕對是一個貢獻。展望未來，我認為這種組合將取決於未來資產負債表的演變。在短期內，生息資產的狀況與上一季度的情況非常一致。因此，我們有 55% 的證券採用浮動利率，88% 的貸款採用浮動利率。

So we're definitely asset sensitive going forward in the short-term. And in the long-term, if things will evolve, as interest rates increase, the net interest income is increasing by quite a significant amount, but on a slightly decreasing scale and in part, that's potentially some derivatives as well as protecting some of the downside risk that we might put in place. So I think we're pretty proactive on managing the balance sheet, but again, it's -- as we've talked on the deposits, it's difficult to predict and to give guidance on what's going to happen. So we try to just stay flexible and staying nimble as we come forward.

因此，我們在短期內肯定對資產敏感。從長遠來看，如果事情會發生變化，隨著利率的上升，淨利息收入會增加相當大的數量，但規模會略有下降，部分原因是這可能是一些衍生品以及保護一些我們可能實施的下行風險。所以我認為我們在管理資產負債表方面非常積極主動，但同樣，正如我們談到存款一樣，很難預測並就將要發生的事情提供指導。因此，當我們挺身而出時，我們盡量保持靈活和敏捷。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Jared Shaw at Wells Fargo Securities.

謝謝你。我們的下一個問題來自 Wells Fargo Securities 的 Jared Shaw。

Maybe on the stablecoin initiative, if you could share with us any updates that happened during the quarter, whether it's from the better regulators? And then what should we be looking at in terms of milestones to this rollout going forward for the rest of the year?

也許在穩定幣計劃中，如果您可以與我們分享本季度發生的任何更新，是否來自更好的監管機構？那麼我們應該在今年餘下的時間裡看到這個推出的里程碑嗎？

Yes, appreciate that question. I'm going to turn it over to Ben in just a second. But as we mentioned, we're still on track for getting a stablecoin issued by Silvergate into the market by the end of this year. And we typically don't comment on conversations with regulators or those kinds of things. And I don't know there would be any specific milestones that you would see prior to the launch. But maybe Ben can give just a little bit of an update on what some of the work streams are that are in process, Ben?

是的，感謝這個問題。我馬上就把它交給本。但正如我們所提到的，我們仍有望在今年年底前將 Silvergate 發行的穩定幣推向市場。我們通常不會對與監管機構的對話或此類事情發表評論。而且我不知道在發布之前您會看到任何具體的里程碑。但是也許 Ben 可以提供一些關於正在進行的工作流的更新，Ben？

So yes, as Alan mentioned, we won't be providing milestones or guidance as we look to roll this out and we will be rolling it out as a pilot as we do with anything. We ultimately do think that the best way to scale, the fastest way to scale is to roll it out through a pilot and really demonstrate success along the way. And you can see that, that's consistent with what we did in SEN leverage when we rolled it out in the first part of 2020 with the SEN when we rolled that out back in 2017. I think one of the things that became apparent to the world in this quarter was sort of the difference between fully reserved U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins and other stablecoins that might be backed by supply and demand curves and algorithms or other assets that aren't U.S. dollars or U.S. dollar equivalents.

所以是的，正如 Alan 所提到的，我們不會提供里程碑或指導，因為我們希望推出它，我們將作為試點推出它，就像我們做任何事情一樣。我們最終確實認為，最好的擴展方式，最快的擴展方式是通過試點進行推廣，並在此過程中真正展示成功。你可以看到，這與我們在 2020 年上半年推出 SEN 槓桿時所做的一致，當時我們在 2017 年推出了 SEN。我認為其中一件事情對世界變得顯而易見在本季度，完全保留的美元支持的穩定幣與其他可能由供需曲線和算法或其他非美元或美元等值資產支持的穩定幣之間存在某種差異。

And so overall, we think that as regulators, as politicians become -- continue to be more educated on the differences within the stablecoin environment that this is a positive for Silvergate because as we've said from the very beginning, we're looking to offer the stable coin in a fully compliant, safe and sound manner where the reserves are invested in a way that make sure that when token holders bring those stablecoins to the issuer, which is Silvergate that they are in fact able to get $1 back.

總體而言，我們認為，隨著監管機構和政客們變得越來越了解穩定幣環境中的差異，這對 Silvergate 來說是積極的，因為正如我們從一開始就說過的那樣，我們希望以完全合規、安全和穩健的方式提供穩定幣，其中儲備金的投資方式確保當代幣持有者將這些穩定幣帶給發行人（即 Silvergate）時，他們實際上能夠收回 1 美元。

So -- so that's, I think overall a positive for what we've -- the design that we've been working on for the past 1.5 years. And as Alan mentioned, we continue to be committed to launching a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin in 2022.

所以 - 所以，我認為總體上對我們所擁有的 - 我們過去 1.5 年一直在努力的設計是積極的。正如 Alan 所說，我們將繼續致力於在 2022 年推出美元支持的穩定幣。

And then I guess, just finally, could you just give a little color on securities that were purchased this quarter in terms of duration and yield and what you're looking for there?

然後我想，最後，你能否就本季度購買的證券的期限和收益率以及你在那裡尋找的東西給出一點顏色？

Sure. Actually, during this quarter, given the size portfolio, we purchased about $140 million of securities and we sold about $75 million of securities. So very small activity in relation to the size of the portfolio. So no real change to the weighted average life of portfolio. And as I indicated previously, the mix of floating rate versus fixed rate remained at around 55% floating rate, again consistent to the end of the first quarter.

當然。實際上，在本季度，鑑於投資組合的規模，我們購買了大約 1.4 億美元的證券，我們賣出了大約 7500 萬美元的證券。與投資組合規模相關的活動非常小。因此，投資組合的加權平均壽命沒有真正的變化。正如我之前指出的，浮動利率與固定利率的組合保持在 55% 左右，與第一季度末的情況再次一致。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Manan Gosalia of Morgan Stanley.

謝謝你。我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Manan Gosalia。

So just a follow-up to what you said on new customer growth. I think you grew new customers quite nicely this quarter. Any changes in the margin on what you're seeing from new customers, just given that you mentioned that clients typically take time to get ready to trade and you probably see the deposit growth follows new customer growth with a little bit of a lag. Are you seeing new clients being either more watchful in putting money to work, maybe just waiting until the recent volatility of it? Or is there more interest just given the volatility and given the potential opportunity that we're seeing in this space?

所以只是對你所說的新客戶增長的跟進。我認為本季度你的新客戶增長得很好。鑑於您提到客戶通常需要時間來準備交易，並且您可能會看到存款增長跟隨新客戶的增長而略有滯後，因此您從新客戶那裡看到的保證金的任何變化。您是否看到新客戶在投入資金時更加謹慎，也許只是等到最近的波動？或者考慮到波動性和我們在這個領域看到的潛在機會，是否會有更多的興趣？

Yes, I appreciate that question. It's a really difficult question to answer when we think about trying to compare new activity from new customers versus what we've experienced with new customers in the past because each customer is different. Each customer is coming in with their own strategy, they're -- while they're likely coming to us because of the SEN and they want to be connected to other participants in the network, they just each move on their own timetable.

是的，我很欣賞這個問題。當我們考慮嘗試將新客戶的新活動與我們過去對新客戶的體驗進行比較時，這是一個非常難以回答的問題，因為每個客戶都是不同的。每個客戶都帶著自己的策略進來，他們是——雖然他們可能會因為 SEN 而來到我們這裡，並且他們希望與網絡中的其他參與者建立聯繫，但他們只是各自按照自己的時間表行事。

And so it definitely gives us confidence as we said earlier, given the number of clients we added during the quarter plus the number of prospects who are still actively engaged in various stages of onboarding that over time, the client base is going to continue to grow. The number of SEN transactions, the transaction volume over the SEN will certainly experience volatility, but it should generally be up and to the right. And when you look at this over periods of quarters and years rather than in weeks and months. But unfortunately, it's just really difficult to compare a current snapshot versus some time in the past because there's just so much volatility in this ecosystem.

因此，正如我們之前所說，這無疑給了我們信心，考慮到我們在本季度增加的客戶數量以及仍在積極參與入職各個階段的潛在客戶數量，隨著時間的推移，客戶群將繼續增長. SEN 交易的數量，超過 SEN 的交易量肯定會出現波動，但一般應該是向上和向右的。當你以季度和年而不是幾周和幾個月的時間來看待這個問題時。但不幸的是，很難將當前的快照與過去的某個時間進行比較，因為這個生態系統的波動性太大了。

Okay. Fair enough. And then just on SEN leverage, given the interest that you're seeing in the product and the volatility in Bitcoin that we've seen, how are you thinking about underwriting that portfolio? Have you made any revisions to the rates that you charge or the LTVs or the customers you're dealing with? Or are you putting on any limits on any size limits on that portfolio?

好的。很公平。然後就 SEN 槓桿而言，鑑於您對產品的興趣以及我們看到的比特幣的波動性，您如何考慮承銷該投資組合？您是否對您收取的費率或 LTV 或您正在處理的客戶進行了任何修改？或者您是否對該投資組合的任何規模限制設置任何限制？

Yes, I'll address some of those questions and then I'm going to turn it over to Ben in a second to just provide a little bit more color on the different types of customers that we're engaged with, which might provide some additional color to your question. But the short answer is we're not making any changes to how we underwrite. We believe that we set this product up appropriately, before we even launched the pilot in the beginning of 2020, we had been looking at the volatility, the historic volatility in this asset and talking specifically again about Bitcoin, the large swings in prices, essentially that underlying volatility and all of that went in to inform how we design the product in terms of the LTVs, the interest rates and the levels where we might require a collateral coverage true-up, AKA, a margin call.

是的，我將解決其中的一些問題，然後我將在稍後將其交給 Ben，以便為我們所接觸的不同類型的客戶提供更多顏色，這可能會提供一些您的問題的其他顏色。但簡短的回答是，我們不會對承保方式進行任何更改。我們相信我們設置了這個產品是適當的，在我們甚至在 2020 年初啟動試點之前，我們一直在關注波動性，這種資產的歷史波動性，並再次專門討論比特幣，價格的大幅波動，本質上潛在的波動性和所有這些都影響了我們如何根據 LTV、利率和我們可能需要抵押品覆蓋率校正的水平來設計產品，AKA，追加保證金。

And so -- and then as Ben mentioned, when we launched the pilot, we ran that pilot for 9 months. On the first -- the entire first year, we probably had less than $100 million outstanding at any one time versus now 2.5 years after the launch, we have commitments of $1.4 billion. So we're very confident with the way we've set up this product. And Ben, do you want to talk a little bit about the different types of customers who are using the product?

所以——正如 Ben 提到的，當我們啟動試點時，我們運行了 9 個月。在第一年——整個第一年，我們在任何時候都可能有不到 1 億美元的未償債務，而在推出 2.5 年後，我們有 14 億美元的承諾。所以我們對我們設置這個產品的方式非常有信心。 Ben，您想談談使用該產品的不同類型的客戶嗎？

Yes, yes, sure, thanks. So I think everyone is sort of familiar with the large loan that we put on earlier in the year, it was a term loan. It was fully drawn and the use case there was really around treasury management. This particular client wanted to add additional bitcoin to their balance sheet from a treasury management perspective and we were able to make a term loan. When we launched the product back in 2019, that use case wasn't even on our radar. Back then, there was a lot of -- really, the primary use case was around trading and folks that were arbitraging the spot market and the futures markets through the basis trade.

是的，是的，當然，謝謝。所以我想每個人都對我們今年早些時候發放的大筆貸款有點熟悉，這是一項定期貸款。它是完全繪製的，並且那裡的用例確實圍繞著資金管理。從資金管理的角度來看，這個特定的客戶希望在他們的資產負債表中添加額外的比特幣，我們能夠提供定期貸款。當我們在 2019 年推出該產品時，我們甚至都沒有註意到這個用例。那時，有很多——實際上，主要用例是圍繞交易以及通過基差交易套利現貨市場和期貨市場的人們。

And so it is -- and so we continue to go through the same process as we always have which is to talk to our customers, understand what their needs are and try to deliver that product to them in a way that creates an outsized return while still managing the risk. And so I wouldn't say that we've seen any shift really during the quarter. Early in the quarter when balances were above $700 million, outstandings were above $700 million, we felt really good about that. We're -- as a reminder, we're charging typically between 6% and 7% interest rates on that and their variable rates.

確實如此——所以我們繼續經歷與以往相同的過程，即與客戶交談，了解他們的需求，並嘗試以一種創造超額回報的方式向他們交付產品，同時仍在管理風險。所以我不會說我們在本季度真的看到了任何變化。在本季度初，當餘額超過 7 億美元，未償餘額超過 7 億美元時，我們對此感覺非常好。我們 - 作為提醒，我們通常收取 6% 到 7% 的利率及其浮動利率。

And so the risk return profile there we feel really good about and we were excited about the fact that it was growing and above $700 million earlier in the quarter. As some of the liquidity events happened during the quarter from various industry participants and contagion sort of correct in, we're actually excited about the fact that balances decreased to $300 million or close to $300 million, which is where they were at the end of the quarter.

因此，我們對那裡的風險回報狀況感到非常滿意，我們對它在本季度早些時候增長並超過 7 億美元這一事實感到興奮。由於各行業參與者在本季度發生了一些流動性事件，並且蔓延在某種程度上是正確的，我們實際上對余額減少到 3 億美元或接近 3 億美元這一事實感到興奮，這是他們在年底的情況。季度。

So I think we're at a stage where the broader industry is sort of catching its breath and reevaluating when they want to put risk on and take risk off. And so -- and I think you saw that in the growth and commitments during the quarter. So as Alan mentioned in some of his earlier comments, we're -- we couldn't be more excited about this product. It performed as we expected and these are always significantly over collateralized loans where we're holding the collateral and we can liquidate it if we need to.

所以我認為我們正處於一個更廣泛的行業正在喘口氣並重新評估他們想要承擔風險和承擔風險的階段。所以 - 我認為你在本季度的增長和承諾中看到了這一點。因此，正如艾倫在他之前的一些評論中提到的那樣，我們對這款產品感到非常興奮。它的表現正如我們預期的那樣，這些總是大大超過我們持有抵押品的抵押貸款，如果需要，我們可以將其清算。

So we think that outstandings will -- should hopefully ramp up in the second half as our clients kind of get their feet underneath them and figure out where they want to put risk on. And so overall, we couldn't be more pleased with this performance.

因此，我們認為，隨著我們的客戶在他們的腳下站穩腳跟並弄清楚他們想在哪裡承擔風險，優秀的人將有望在下半年增加。總的來說，我們對這種表現感到非常滿意。

Thank you. Our next question comes from David Chiaverini at Wedbush Securities.

謝謝你。我們的下一個問題來自 Wedbush Securities 的 David Chiaverini。

I had a follow-up on the stablecoin initiative. Do you feel enough regulatory guidance has been provided already such that you may be able to launch the pilot even without any additional regulatory updates?

我對穩定幣計劃進行了跟進。您是否認為已經提供了足夠的監管指導，即使沒有任何額外的監管更新，您也可以啟動試點？

Yes, Dave. I'll take this one. So as we've discussed in the past, we started down this path of looking at issuing our own stablecoin from the perspective of would it be legally permissible for us to do so. And we did the legal analysis, this goes back a couple of years now. We engaged with the regulators and we came to the conclusion that it is in fact legally permissible. And the guidance -- the President's Working Group report that was issued on November 1st of last year, 2021, reinforced that belief that, in fact, it is legally permissible. And in fact there -- that report indicated a preference for stablecoins to be issued by insured depository institutions.

是的，戴夫。我要這個。因此，正如我們過去所討論的，我們從法律是否允許我們這樣做的角度開始考慮發行我們自己的穩定幣。我們做了法律分析，這可以追溯到幾年前。我們與監管機構進行了接觸，我們得出的結論是，這實際上是法律允許的。去年 2021 年 11 月 1 日發布的指導意見——總統工作組報告強化了這樣一種信念，即事實上這是法律允許的。事實上，該報告表明更傾向於由受保存款機構發行穩定幣。

And so the -- in terms of is there additional regulatory guidance that's needed, we don't believe so. It's really all about the design of the product who's going to use it in the pilot, et cetera. And so those are all things that we're working on and we're certainly engaged with our regulators as we design the product. But we don't believe that there's any specific guidance that's needed will continue to take into account the guidance that comes out as it's issued, but we're moving forward based on the guidance that exist in the market today.

因此，就是否需要額外的監管指導而言，我們認為不需要。這實際上是關於將在試點中使用它的產品的設計，等等。所以這些都是我們正在努力的事情，我們在設計產品時肯定會與我們的監管機構合作。但我們不認為需要任何具體的指導來繼續考慮發佈時出現的指導，但我們正在根據當今市場上存在的指導向前邁進。

That's great. Very helpful. And then my follow-up is on rate sensitivity, a question that I've been getting is, have you considered swapping out some of your rate sensitivity to lock in higher rates?

那太棒了。非常有幫助。然後我跟進的是利率敏感性，我一直在問的一個問題是，你是否考慮過換掉一些利率敏感性來鎖定更高的利率？

Yes, I'll turn that over to Tony. Yes, I'm sorry, Tony, go ahead.

是的，我會把它交給托尼。是的，對不起，托尼，繼續。

Sorry, yes, David, yes. We like I said in my previous comments, we'll continue to disclosure with the Q. But we do -- we have in the past used derivatives and be -- we would certainly consider them as part of the strategy going forward to manage interest rate risk. So we'll provide disclosure going forward, but definitely the case to manage interest rate risk. So thanks for the question.

對不起，是的，大衛，是的。我們就像我在之前的評論中所說的那樣，我們將繼續向 Q 披露。但我們確實——我們過去曾使用過衍生品，並且現在——我們肯定會將它們視為未來管理利益戰略的一部分利率風險。因此，我們將在未來提供披露，但絕對是管理利率風險的情況。所以謝謝你的問題。

Our next question comes from Steve Moss at B. Riley Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 B. Riley Securities 的 Steve Moss。

Most of my questions have been asked, but just maybe following up on the competitive environment. Just kind of curious what are -- if any pressure just your clients here? Is there -- as you've had more entrants other banks into the space, are you seeing splitting of any deposit balances or any clients becoming more sensitive on fees? Any color along those lines would be helpful.

我的大部分問題都被問到了，但也許只是在跟進競爭環境。只是有點好奇是什麼——如果你的客戶在這裡有壓力嗎？是否存在 - 隨著您有更多其他銀行進入該領域，您是否看到任何存款餘額的拆分或任何客戶對費用變得更加敏感？沿著這些線的任何顏色都會有幫助。

Yes, the short answer is no. We haven't seen any pressure on fees. I think one thing that we should all kind of acknowledge is that the second quarter was a quarter of significant stress, market stress and volatility. And so I don't think our customers were really focused so much on how much interest are they earning or how much are they paying in fees. They were very focused on managing their own risk. And fortunately, as we've said already, they were very reliant on the 24/7, 365 uptime that the Silvergate Exchange Network provides.

是的，簡短的回答是否定的。我們沒有看到任何收費壓力。我認為我們都應該承認的一件事是，第二季度是一個面臨巨大壓力、市場壓力和波動的季度。因此，我認為我們的客戶並沒有真正關注他們賺取多少利息或支付多少費用。他們非常專注於管理自己的風險。幸運的是，正如我們已經說過的，他們非常依賴 Silvergate 交換網絡提供的 24/7、365 正常運行時間。

And then equally important, the network of counterparties with whom they do business, I mean the thing that attracts people to Silvergate is this network effect. Every time we add a new customer, we not only do we create value for them, but we create value for every other participant in the network because they now have another counterparty to trade with. And so this is one of the things that sometimes get lost when you have these periods of market stress, but the fact that if you're a participant in this ecosystem, you want to be where there's the most -- the highest access to liquidity and candidly in this ecosystem that Silvergate and being a SEN participant.

然後同樣重要的是，與他們有業務往來的交易對手網絡，我的意思是，吸引人們來到 Silvergate 的是這種網絡效應。每次我們添加新客戶時，我們不僅為他們創造價值，而且為網絡中的每個其他參與者創造價值，因為他們現在有了另一個交易對手。因此，當您處於這些市場壓力時期時，這是有時會丟失的事情之一，但事實上，如果您是這個生態系統的參與者，您希望成為最多的地方——獲得流動性的最高途徑坦率地說，在這個生態系統中，Silvergate 並成為 SEN 參與者。

Our next question comes from Joseph Vafi at Canaccord.

我們的下一個問題來自 Canaccord 的 Joseph Vafi。

Nice quarter here amidst the volatility, nice to see stress test of the model and it coming out shining. Just a question here on the SEN as it relates to the rollout of your stablecoin here in the second half and maybe the SEN road map. And does it make sense at some point to kind of blockchain enable the SEN, especially if you're going to have your own stablecoin to be able to kind of more tightly integrate the SEN to your own stablecoin. And then I have a quick follow-up.

在波動中，這是一個不錯的季度，很高興看到該模型的壓力測試並且它發光。只是關於 SEN 的一個問題，因為它與下半年在此處推出穩定幣以及可能是 SEN 路線圖有關。在某些時候讓某種區塊鏈啟用 SEN 是否有意義，特別是如果你將擁有自己的穩定幣，以便能夠將 SEN 更緊密地集成到你自己的穩定幣中。然後我有一個快速跟進。

Yes, Joe, I'm just going to go ahead and ask Ben to take this, I really appreciate the question and it is an important distinction as it relates to the SEN, which is currently not a blockchain. But yes, Ben, do you want to go ahead and comment on that?

是的，喬，我將繼續請 Ben 接受這個問題，我非常感謝這個問題，這是一個重要的區別，因為它與 SEN 相關，而 SEN 目前還不是區塊鏈。但是，是的，本，你想繼續對此發表評論嗎？

Thanks for the question, Joe. So as we've said before, the solutions that we build are really driven by our customers. So as we're talking with our customers and we're understanding their businesses and how we can add value for them, how we can solve problems for them. That really informs the roadmap for the SEN and for the blockchain solutions that we're looking at. As you alluded to, as we made the acquisition in the first quarter, we certainly see the benefits of blockchain-based payment systems and the ability to transfer value 24/7 around the globe.

謝謝你的問題，喬。正如我們之前所說，我們構建的解決方案實際上是由我們的客戶驅動的。因此，當我們與客戶交談時，我們正在了解他們的業務以及我們如何為他們增加價值，我們如何為他們解決問題。這確實為 SEN 和我們正在研究的區塊鏈解決方案的路線圖提供了信息。正如您所提到的，當我們在第一季度進行收購時，我們當然看到了基於區塊鏈的支付系統的好處以及在全球範圍內 24/7 轉移價值的能力。

One of the great things about I think Alan explained the benefits of the SEN to the users and a benefit to Silvergate you need to be a Silvergate customer in order to participate. But as we continue to think about the future, think about the future of payment systems, the ability to transfer value around the globe 24/7 over blockchain systems is something that we think is really important. So more work for us to do in that area, but definitely something that we're looking at and talking to our customers about.

我認為 Alan 向用戶解釋了 SEN 的好處以及對 Silvergate 的好處，您需要成為 Silvergate 客戶才能參與其中的一件好事。但是，當我們繼續思考未來，思考支付系統的未來時，我們認為能夠通過區塊鏈系統在全球 24/7 全天候轉移價值的能力是非常重要的。因此，我們在該領域要做的工作更多，但絕對是我們正在關注並與客戶討論的事情。

Great. That's great. And then just your risk management did really well in the quarter. Was there -- is there anything else to provide any color there? Did you tweak your model at all? Any updates to the risk management methodology that from any learnings coming out the other end of at least this -- the quarterly volatility.

偉大的。那太棒了。然後只是您的風險管理在本季度做得非常好。有沒有——那裡還有什麼可以提供任何顏色的嗎？你有沒有調整你的模型？風險管理方法的任何更新，至少來自另一端的任何學習——季度波動。

Yes, Joe, again, the short answer is no. We didn't have to make any tweaks at all. One thing that we have done since the market has calmed down a little bit is we've gone back. And we constantly update kind of the historical experience of the significant drawdowns in the price of Bitcoin and the volumes and how does the price risk act over a 24-hour period, a 48-hour period, 36 hours, et cetera. But -- so our risk management processes are constantly looking at how the market performs, but we've not seen anything so far that would cause us to have to make any tweaks whatsoever.

是的，喬，再次，簡短的回答是否定的。我們根本不需要做任何調整。自從市場稍微平靜下來後，我們所做的一件事就是我們已經回去了。我們不斷更新比特幣價格和交易量大幅下跌的歷史經驗，以及價格風險在 24 小時、48 小時、36 小時等期間的表現。但是——所以我們的風險管理流程一直在關注市場的表現，但到目前為止我們還沒有看到任何會導致我們不得不做出任何調整的事情。

And again, this is one of the reasons it's Bitcoin only. Bitcoin, as everybody on the call is probably aware has been live since 2009 and putting aside the price for a second, the protocol itself has been operating with 0 downtime since 2013 since before we got into the ecosystem. So the Bitcoin protocol just continues to hum along, generating blocks roughly every 10 minute, everything is working. And so from our perspective, we certainly look at price action and we want to constantly make sure that our risk management practices are sound. And so far, there has been no need to make any changes whatsoever.

再說一次，這也是它只是比特幣的原因之一。比特幣，正如通話中的每個人可能都知道的那樣，自 2009 年以來一直存在並且暫且不提價格，自 2013 年以來，自我們進入生態系統之前，該協議本身就一直在以 0 停機時間運行。所以比特幣協議只是繼續嗡嗡作響，大約每 10 分鐘生成一次塊，一切正常。因此，從我們的角度來看，我們當然會關注價格行為，並且我們希望不斷確保我們的風險管理實踐是合理的。到目前為止，沒有必要進行任何更改。

Our final question comes from George Sutton at Craig-Hallum Capital.

我們的最後一個問題來自 Craig-Hallum Capital 的 George Sutton。

Thank you and just to underline some of your points, Alan, $350 million of Bitcoin just traded and really didn't move the market, so that's pretty impressive. So your professional services quarter-over-quarter grew from $3 million to $6.3 million, obviously, a significant percentage sequentially. Can you talk about the deployment of those dollars relative to the stablecoin project?

謝謝你，只是為了強調你的一些觀點，艾倫，3.5 億美元的比特幣剛剛交易，並沒有真正推動市場，所以這非常令人印象深刻。因此，您的專業服務環比從 300 萬美元增長到 630 萬美元，顯然，環比增長了很大比例。你能談談這些美元相對於穩定幣項目的部署嗎？

Yes, thanks for the question, George. I'm going to turn it over to Tony to dive into the expenses a little bit more.

是的，謝謝你的問題，喬治。我將把它交給托尼，讓他更深入地了解費用。

Yes. Thanks for the question, George. Actually, the increase is -- there are certainly elements of there. We -- there's a combination of factors going to the professional fees. But as you said, on -- it's a relatively big change, but on the ground scheme of things, I don't think it's a significant move around the overall P&L. But we did continue to invest in stablecoin infrastructure project, but we've also used third-party -- third-party fees for other things, like legal costs and recruiting costs and a series of other things as we continue to kind of scale up. And so there's a bunch of things in there, but certainly the biggest component is stablecoin infrastructure.

是的。謝謝你的問題，喬治。實際上，增加是 - 肯定有其中的元素。我們 - 專業費用有多種因素。但正如你所說，這是一個相對較大的變化，但從根本上來說，我認為這不是圍繞整體損益的重大舉措。但我們確實繼續投資穩定幣基礎設施項目，但我們也使用了第三方——第三方費用用於其他事情，比如法律費用和招聘成本以及一系列其他事情，因為我們繼續擴大規模.所以那裡有很多東西，但最大的組成部分肯定是穩定幣基礎設施。

And then lastly, this crypto environment is obviously creating dramatic winners and dramatic losers, you're clearly on the winning side. And Ben had mentioned being a product-driven company, I'm curious how much out of the box you're thinking or looking for these opportunities in this environment to really build up the transactional revenue side of your ecosystem?

最後，這種加密環境顯然正在創造戲劇性的贏家和戲劇性的輸家，你顯然是贏家。 Ben 曾提到作為一家產品驅動型公司，我很好奇您在這種環境下思考或尋找這些機會以真正建立您生態系統的交易收入方面有多少開箱即用？

Yes, George, that's a fair question. I'm going to ask Ben to comment on it, but I'll just start by saying that we take a very long-term view as we've demonstrated in the past by the development of the SEN, the launch of the Euro SEN earlier this year, the launch of SEN leverage. So we don't typically -- we're not chasing the latest hottest thing in the market that might come and go such as ICOs few years ago or DFI or NFTs, where we really stay in our lane as it relates to what we can do as a bank. But with that as an overview, maybe Ben can just provide a little bit more color on how we think about it.

是的，喬治，這是一個公平的問題。我將請 Ben 對此發表評論，但我首先要說的是，正如我們過去通過 SEN 的發展、Euro SEN 的推出所證明的那樣，我們採取了非常長遠的觀點今年早些時候，SEN槓桿推出。所以我們通常不會——我們不會追逐市場上可能來來去去的最新最熱門的東西，比如幾年前的 ICO 或 DFI 或 NFT，我們真正留在我們的車道上，因為這與我們能做的有關做銀行。但是作為一個概述，也許 Ben 可以提供更多關於我們如何看待它的顏色。

Yes, so consistent with what we've said in the past, we are -- we do get a fair number of looks at different M&A possibilities, if you will, or really acquisition targets. The -- and for us, the strategy really hasn't changed, George, as you mentioned, we do look at acquisitions through the lens of product and what are the things that we could do to continue to solve problems for our customers, understanding our existing product suite and wanting there to be sort of tight integrations between the products that we offer and what we might add on to that. And so I think the blockchain assets that we acquired earlier in the year were a good example of that.

是的，與我們過去所說的一致，我們確實 - 如果您願意，我們確實對不同的併購可能性或真正的收購目標進行了相當多的關注。 - 對我們來說，戰略真的沒有改變，喬治，正如你提到的，我們確實從產品的角度來看待收購，我們可以做些什麼來繼續為我們的客戶解決問題，理解我們現有的產品套件，並希望我們提供的產品與我們可能添加的產品之間有某種緊密的集成。所以我認為我們今年早些時候收購的區塊鏈資產就是一個很好的例子。

The reality is that there's just not really that many kind of opportunities out there to do that, but nonetheless, we continue to be open to looking at things and whatnot. But I think for us, the strategy is -- remains the same. And so I don't really expect anything different in the second half of the year.

現實情況是，實際上並沒有那麼多的機會可以做到這一點，但儘管如此，我們仍然對事物保持開放態度等等。但我認為對我們來說，策略是 - 保持不變。所以我真的不認為下半年會有什麼不同。

Thank you. This concludes our Q&A session. I would now like to pass back over to Alan Lane for any final remarks.

謝謝你。我們的問答環節到此結束。我現在想請 Alan Lane 做最後的評論。

All right. Thank you and thank you all for joining us today. As we've said many times on today's call, we're incredibly proud of our results this quarter amidst a challenging backdrop. I'd like to thank our team at Silvergate for their continued hard work delivering valuable solutions for our customers. And as we move through the remainder of 2022, we're excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and we'll continue to take a prudent approach to risk management while continuing to innovate. We look forward to sharing additional updates with you in the coming quarters. Thank you, and have a great day.

好的。謝謝大家今天加入我們。正如我們在今天的電話會議上多次說過的那樣，在充滿挑戰的背景下，我們對本季度的業績感到無比自豪。我要感謝 Silvergate 的團隊，感謝他們持續努力為我們的客戶提供有價值的解決方案。在 2022 年剩餘時間內，我們對未來的機遇感到興奮，我們將在繼續創新的同時繼續採取審慎的風險管理方法。我們期待在未來幾個季度與您分享更多更新。謝謝你，祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you, everybody, for joining today's call. You may now disconnect.

謝謝大家參加今天的電話會議。您現在可以斷開連接。