Cryptocurrency has recently become a common form of digital currency in recent years. However, with the rise in popularity of cryptocurrency for investment opportunities and as a form of payment for products or services through online providers, not all domestic and foreign banks recognize it as a viable form of currency. When doing your research on which banks will accept cryptocurrency, it’s important to look for bitcoin-friendly or crypto-friendly banks that will support the purchase of Bitcoin (a form of cryptocurrency) using money from your bank account.
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Do any real banks use Bitcoin?
Soon there will be regulated providers in the EU offering both traditional banking services, including trading, “storage” of cryptocurrencies. This has long been the goal of many FinTech (financial technology) start-ups to enable people who are not particularly tech-oriented to invest/receive and send cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
Bitwala – Blockchain Banking is coming with its 4 years of experience in the “blockchain banking” industry is one of the established service providers and according to its statements will be the first provider to offer, together with a German bank, a “Bitcoin bank” at the end of July/beginning of August. The offer therefore includes all traditional banking services (IBAN account, transfers, credit card) and the purchase / sale of cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin).
WHY DON’T ALL BANKS WORK WITH CRYPTOCURRENCY?
Before understanding the reasons why not all banks work with cryptocurrency, it is important to understand what exactly cryptocurrency is. Cryptocurrency is a type of currency that uses digital data files as a form of money, so there is no physical currency like a dollar bill, but rather a set of data files that store and exchange values. Those data files are stored in secure, encrypted blocks of data also known as blockchains. It is blockchain technology that enables cryptocurrency because it acts as a distributed ledger, a list of transactions that serves as a database of public financial transactions. The cryptocurrency within the blockchain can come in multiple forms such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Cardano, among others.
It is very important to note that cryptocurrency currently uses “decentralized control”, which means that it is devoid of any person or government control. Control of each cryptocurrency works through that secure blockchain. Without the control or regulation of cryptocurrency by an entity there is great volatility of cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency can be seen as a high risk for banks. Banks are in the business of making money and with the volatility of cryptocurrency, banks may lose heavy investments when there is even a slight change in cryptocurrency.
It’s equally important to note that banks don’t want to work with cryptocurrency due to volatility, but cryptocurrency could essentially make cash useless in the future, a direct threat to banks working in fiat money. As stated earlier, cryptocurrency technologies are created and traded as decentralized and operate in an open source environment. So, cryptocurrencies are controlled by code and transactions are carried out by peer-to-peer networks. This essentially eliminates the use of fiat money, an intermediary and banking systems.
What are the best banks that accept cryptocurrencies?
Despite the threat that cryptocurrency may pose to banks, it is becoming more common for banks to accept cryptocurrency as a form of digital currency because they are seeing the value of cryptocurrency technology.
There is no better bank that accepts cryptocurrency. As an experienced investor, it’s important to specifically research bitcoin-friendly and crypto-friendly banking options to meet your financial needs.
HOW TO OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT FOR CRYPTOCURRENCY
If you want to open a bank account for cryptocurrency it is important to understand your financial goals and then do the research on which bank would be best for you.
When you begin your search, consider the following:
- Banking regulations – You will first need to consider which country you want to bank in and then investigate the banking regulations in that country regarding the acceptance of customers related to cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency-related activities, and cryptocurrency-related banks.
- – Your country of residence or where your business is incorporated (where you pay business taxes) may affect whether you are a high- or low-risk applicant.
- Source of funds – There is a level of anonymity associated with the nature of cryptocurrency technology. This could make it difficult to prove a source of funds via cryptocurrency. You will need to identify and prove your cryptocurrency income before opening a bank account for cryptocurrency.
Country of residence
Once you do your due diligence on understanding, researching, and monitoring these articles, you can go ahead in opening a bank account for cryptocurrency with confidence.
CAN YOU BUY CRYPTOCURRENCY THROUGH BANKS?
In the United States you can buy cryptocurrency using a cryptocurrency exchange that accepts USD ACH bank transfers. A cryptocurrency exchange is a platform that corresponds to buyers and sellers. As a simple example, through a cryptocurrency exchange you can transfer fiat money using an ACH bank transfer in exchange for cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. There are several types of digital currency or cryptocurrency exchanges you can use to buy cryptocurrency with a bank transfer in the US including Gemini, Coinbase, Paxful, Revolut, and Robinhood, just to name a few.
The steps to buy cryptocurrency with fiat money in your bank account are simple.
- Create a wallet – Before you start buying, it’s important to set up a wallet. You can keep your money on a cryptocurrency exchange, but it is not recommended to keep it there for a long period of time. By setting up a secure wallet you can store your investment.
- Register an account with a cryptocurrency exchange – After doing your research, select a digital currency exchange (like the ones listed above) that accepts ACH bank transfers.
- – Within the cryptocurrency exchange, link your bank account, which may require you to provide your online banking service and password, as well as your bank name, routing number, account number, and account type.
- Buy cryptocurrency – Through your exchange you can start buying cryptocurrency, which can come in the form of Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, etc., depending on the investment you choose.
- to your wallet – To secure your cryptocurrency purchase, transfer your digital currency from the exchange and into your wallet.
Link your bank account
Transfer your cryptocurrency
WHAT WILL BE THE FUTURE OF BANKS AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES?
As the sophistication of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies continues to evolve, these technologies hold great promise for consumers to invest in and use various forms of digital currency for goods and services through the touch of a button via online providers. However, although cryptocurrencies bring great convenience, they come with high risk and volatility. As a decentralized form of currency, if cryptocurrency continues to be adopted as a form of mainstream currency, cryptocurrency could eliminate fiat money by knocking out banks.
Despite this risk, we are seeing a trend of increasing acceptance of cryptocurrencies by banks as they see the value of blockchain technology and consumer willingness to adopt digital currencies. The future of banking and cryptocurrency is uncertain, but as technology advances, we could see more and more banks investing in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology strategies.
