It appears that in just a few years’ time, young financial services customers are only going to choose banks that can host both fiat and crypto assets for credit products, investments, and savings accounts. At least this is what Mark Binns, CEO of BIGG Digital Assets Inc. strongly believes.
In fact, there are a few clues that indicate this very-possible scenario. Recently, the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange called Kraken has become the first-ever United States crypto business to become a full-fledged bank. Thanks to this transition, Kraken will now be able to offer its customers a lot more banking and funding choices. Also, from now on, it will be allowed to operate within multiple jurisdictions without any state-related compliance problems.
At the moment, Kraken Financial is collaborating with Silvergate Bank to be able to offer SWIFT and FedWire funding to its United States-based clients. This is only the beginning, Binns thinks, as more and more similar situations are going to happen in the coming years, maybe even months. If there ever was a time for traditional banks to start catching up on the crypto business, this is it!
Silvergate Bank is probably the most up-to-date when it comes to crypto, at least for now. The bank has a clientele base of 880 digital asset companies who have already deposited over $1.5 billion. However, it may seem like a lot but, in fact, it’s still a rather small amount, especially when compared to the market capitalizations of most cryptocurrencies or banks.
Another interesting fact to keep in mind moving forward is that Gemini and Coinbase, two of the largest crypto exchanges out there, have recently become clients of JPMorgan. Considering how its CEO Jamie Dimon criticized the value of Bitcoin and crypto in general just a few years back, this is certainly an interesting move.
All things considered, according to Mark Binns, in just a few short years, clients will only choose to work with those banks that offer full services. This will translate into the ability to offer financial services in both crypto and fiat. So, it’s clear as day that banks need to urgently start acquiring all the necessary crypto banking trade tools that will make them considerably more popular, especially among the upcoming young generation of traders and investors. These tools include blockchain forensic gadgets and a highly-advanced Defi sector, among other things.
It truly depends on each bank to make the necessary adjustments or let the dust settle on their services. The future is now and there is no time to waste, especially when it comes to crypto
