News: The Biggest Online-Only Bank In Norway Will Allow Users To Link Their Coinbase Cryptocurrency Account To Their Banking App To Look At Their Holdings
When banking and bitcoin meet it will be a giant step towards mainstream adoption. Maybe even the biggest or the final step. Like banks or hate them, they are the norm in a lot of major countries for how wealth and money is handled at all levels. From big investments from corporations to the weekly cheques of almost every working man and woman, almost every cent goes through a bank. In fact a lot of people rarely carry cash anymore, they use their debit and credit cards which was issued to them by a bank. They get their money sent through a bank, they get loans and mortgages through a bank and have their accounts insured by a bank. So when people can deposit and spend bitcoin(and other cryptocurrencies) through a bank like they do cash, the gap between cryptocurrency and cash will be, pretty much, closed.
The largest online-only bank in Norway (Skandiabanken) is starting to flirt with the idea of offering bitcoin services. But before you get too excited, as I was before I fully read the article, at this time, it is only offering users the ability to connect their coinbase account with their bank account so they can see where their cryptocurrencies stand. Technically yes, you could just look at your coinbase account for that but I like to see this as a positive side of where this could lead.
There is the chance it is just a gimmick to bring in users who user cryptocurrency but it could also be the start of the bank seeing where the interest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies lie. It is a safe, risk free way for them to gather information to see if this is a direction they should go in. If they are monitoring people's accounts, they can see who is investing the coin and how much money is going into it. From what I am seeing, I think banks will treat coins as they do stocks at first. They will not let users use them as they would cash but they will give them the option to buy and sell them like you would a highly-volatile stock.
The real win towards a mainstream push is when users can utilize their coins as they would cash. I think this will take time as banks need to be comfortable with the risks that come from cryptocurrencies as well as have the support from the government. But on that day, it might be game over and the moon will be only the beginning. This app from Norway could be the first step.
At the very least, it shows they are being taken seriously be a financial institution.
Want to read more, check out the article here:
http://www.coindesk.com/banks-offering-cryptocurrency-services-a-new-reality-is-arriving/
*my upvotes/rep disclaimer: https://steemit.com/steemit/@whatageek/my-steemit-account-where-i-stand-on-bots-self-votes-and-multiple-account
that can be good and it also can be very dangerous
I agree that it can possibly open up a n avenue for banks to either start reporting this information or a backdoor into allowing you to secure your coins with them instead of inside of a wallet. The banks are really reaching and trying to find many different ways to position themselves within the new emerging market.
It may seem like an oxymoron, but I think that the future will be the banks securing and granting your cryptos deposits and investments.
I think so to, but maybe for only a couple of coins.
The banks cannot stop the inevitable... they must adopt or they will lose their value much like what happened to technologies like floppy disks, film cameras, etc..
I think banks will go less and less in significance and people direct financial access will grow more and more but this will not happen in 5 years yet. Looking forward to a less controlled financial environment...
I think this idea to replace the banking system, that seems so popular in the crypto community, is quite unrealistic. Bitcoin does a good job at keeping your money secure and giving you the possibility to send it anywhere quickly and cheaply. However, as @whatageek mentioned, banks are the places where you can get mortgages and loans. This concentration of capital, so it can later be invested, is crucial for economic growth, which is why banks are still so important. Disclaimer: I'm quite new to the community and very excited about this technology but still trying to understand how everything works . I'd grateful for any educational responses that could convince me otherwise.
I agree, the economy is highly tied to banking. Though cryptocurrency does give you the option to bypass banks if you choose to and send money directly to people. But you need a lot of capital to avoid needed credit. Welcome to steemit, if have any questions, please le me know.
I think for now, that's why i say it will not happen immediately. It will be a process, my estimate is that it will 5 years in the making.
Now it is payment centers that are being resolved or proposed to be done through block chain, I see one ICO that exchanges should be done through blockchain. I am predicting (just my opinion) soon loans , mortgages and even your credit score will be done through blockchain or smart contracts.
This way no influence peddling is necessary but immutable public ledger to show how loan worthy you are and money will come from people who own digital currencies not from a centralized corporation like banks and others.
Yeah blockchain is definitely here to stay. The question is where are the coins going to be. I would actually guess 3 years, things are starting to really pick up this year in the cryptocurrency field and I think it is going to turn a lot of heads.
I checked out, thanks for that! It is interesting cause I will move to Norway very soon