CommBank app clients, who number 6.5 million, will soon be able to trade cryptocurrencies, according to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has stated that it would be the first bank in Australia to allow clients to acquire, trade, and store cryptocurrency assets directly through the CommBank app. This is the first time a bank in Australia has made this announcement.
Australia’s first bank to support cryptocurrency will be the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), with Blockchain Australia predicting that the country’s other ‘big four’ banks, including the National Australia Bank (NAB), the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), and Westpac, will follow suit shortly.
It has partnered with Gemini, one of the world’s largest regulated cryptocurrency exchanges and custody service providers, as well as Chainalysis, one of the world’s top blockchain analysis companies. Through these two agreements, the bank has been able to establish a cryptocurrency exchange and custody service, which will be made available to customers through a new feature in the bank’s mobile app. Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC) are just a few of the 10 cryptocurrencies that will be available in the company’s banking app when it launches later this year.
Steve Vallas, the CEO of Blockchain Australia, believes that completing this stage is “extraordinarily important” since Australia’s “national and international image as a financial services centre” is “underpinned” by the country’s four largest banks.
“THE IMPACT THAT THIS SIGNAL SENDS AROUND THE WORLD THAT AUSTRALIA SHOULD BE A DESTINATION FOR CRYPTOCURRENCY AND DIGITAL ASSET ADOPTION WILL HAVE ON THE CONFIDENCE THAT THIS PROVIDES LOCAL DIGITAL ASSET SECTOR PARTICIPANTS WILL DWARF THE CONFIDENCE THAT THESE PARTICIPANTS HAVE.”
Vallas thinks that the rapid development and acceptance of cryptocurrency has “shifted the risk of the giant banks adopting a wait-and-see strategy” to a risk of “inaction” and being left behind as a result of the rapid expansion and adoption of cryptocurrency. Vella feels it is only a matter of time until the other major Australian financial institutions begin offering their own cryptocurrency services.
“It is unavoidable that other financial institutions will follow suit in the near future. Industry and government are working together to tackle issues such as licencing head-on, with the goal of bringing clarity to the local regulatory structure. “Barriers to action and participation are being removed,” he stated in his statement.
BTC Markets’ chief executive, Caroline Bowler, echoed Vallas’ remarks, stating, “With regulation on the horizon and one of the country’s biggest banks on board, the floodgates have been opened for more interest from conventional finance.”
THE CHANGE AT CBA IS UNAVOIDABLE AND EXCITING. FOR CRYPTO, IT SEEMS LIKE AUSTRALIA HAS SUDDENLY PUSHED THE LEAD FOOT AND IT’S ANOTHER “RED-LETTER” DAY. After years of being blamed for falling behind, we’re now taking the initiative to move into a global leadership position with the help of our most important bank.”
Mr. Dave Abner, Global Head of Business Development at Gemini, expressed his company’s “pleasure” at the prospect of collaborating with CBA to provide world-class crypto services.
As he continued, “Gemini’s institutional-grade security and proactive regulatory approach, combined with the exponential growth of digital assets around the world, positions this collaboration to establish a new standard for banks, financial platforms, and other financial institutions in Australia and around the world.”
There has been some criticism of CBA’s ties with multinational corporations, with Adrian Przelozny, CEO of Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve, expressing his disappointment with the bank’s choice to cooperate with an international organisation.
“It is disappointing that the CBA opted to work with a foreign athlete rather than with local players. “We’ll get in touch with the other Australian banks as soon as possible,” Przelozny continued.
