Australia’s largest bank announced plans to roll out the nation’s first retail cryptocurrency offering despite broader resistance to adoption elsewhere.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) will offer retail clients crypto services, according to a statement, making it the pioneer of the space in the country’s banking sector.
«The emergence and growing demand for digital currencies from customers create both challenges and opportunities for the financial services sector, which has seen a significant number of new players and business models innovating in this area,» said CBA chief executive Matt Comyn. «We believe we can play an important role in crypto to address what's clearly a growing customer need.»
This marks a significant deviation from the Australian banking sector’s other peers including National Australia Bank, Westpac Banking Corp and ANZ which have been recently spotlighted for their refusal to do business with crypto providers.
Crypto Offering
Beginning with a pilot this year, CBA will offer trading on its banking app via a partnership with Gemini Trust – a New York-based crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
The offering will include around 10 cryptocurrencies by 2022 including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin.
Cyber Risks
CBA will also collaborate with U.S. blockchain data platform Chainalysis to monitor and mitigate the threat of cyber crimes.
«Customers have expressed concern regarding some of the crypto services in market today, including the friction of using third party exchanges, the risk of fraud, and the lack of trust in some new providers,» Comyn added.
«This is why we see this as an opportunity to bring a trusted and secure experience for our customers.»
