BCB Group Acts to Close Silvergate Gap

UK-based payment processor specializing in linking crypto firms to the banking world, BCB Group, is ramping up its dollar-to-crypto capabilities following Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) shutting down. The firm hopes to have the fiat-to-crypto system ready to roll early in the second quarter.

Speaking during a media interview, the group's CEO, Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, stated that the BCB Liquidity Interchange Network Consortium (BLINC) is a dollar component that has been in the pipeline for the last year and which will launch soon. He said the move is meant to plug the hole left by the departure of SEN, besides providing continuity to BCB and Silvergate clients.

BCB has a payment license from UK financial regulator

Launched in Mid-2020, BLINC facilitates a real-time settlement system for fiat currencies like the Euro, British Pound, and the Swiss Franc, similar to what Silvergate did for US-based crypto clients transacting in dollars. The firm provides fiat-to-crypto solutions to Europe's leading institutional players, including Galaxy Digital, Bitstamp, Kraken, and Gemini. London-based BCB has a payment license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK's regulator.

According to Landsberg-Sadie, unlike SEN, BLINC is multicurrency and not tied to a particular credit institution. It's purposely designed as a payment institution that provides onramps to numerous banks in the UK, Switzerland, and several other European countries.

Considering Silvergate's waterloo was when the firm allowed long-term Bitcoin bets against short-term cash deposits, a titanic feat during 2022's crazy markets, Landsberg-Sadie said the group's funds are 1:1, no leverage, no pledge, and always fully protected with safeguarded funds.

An alternative to the Silvergate and Signature Bank networks

The firm’s move will help widen the space for crypto companies struggling to integrate with traditional banking systems by including USD capabilities.

The groups’ entry and launch of BLINC will offer an alternative to the Silvergate and New York-based Signature Bank's networks. BLINC introduces a decentralized model that provides excellent stability and security to clients, giving it great potential within the crypto payments space. Signature's Signet is currently the following largest network for USD instant settlement.

Crypto companies that hoped to revitalize traditional banking by integrating cryptocurrency have always been skating on thin ice. Consequently, the accompanying crashes such as FTX and scandals that sparked a cacophony of responses from US-based regulators are almost suffocating the nascent crypto-banking startups.