Founded in La Jolla, California in the late 1980s, Silvergate began as a traditional commercial bank, but started exploring the idea of serving the digital asset industry in 2013.

After finding recent success, Silvergate has since pivoted and is now almost entirely focused on providing banking services to cryptocurrency-related companies, largely through its SEN 24/7 payment network.

On March 8, 2023, it was announced that Silvergate Bank would wind down its operations and liquidate.