Coinbase and Binance Exploring the Idea of Becoming Crypto Banks
This could be the best play for crypto exchanges: crypto banks.
Crypto exchanges have too many obvious advantages over traditional stock exchanges and the most important of all is its 24/7 trading session. For this reason alone, stock exchanges overtime will either have to transform themselves or simply die out.
Banks have a similar fate. Once crypto exchanges enter the banking industry, they will have disruptive advantages over the traditional banks - they're fast, they're cheap and they're records are immutable. What is critical is that they (crypto exchanges) should remain in control and not let banks become their master. Otherwise, it would be same old story - the elite holding the masses by the neck.
The San Francisco Unicorn Coinbase Looks Into a Federal Banking Charter
There are those that believe Coinbase will someday become a fairly large sized ‘bitcoin bank’ with its 20Mn users that have traded $150Bn USD worth of digital assets since the company’s inception. Back in May, the public found out that the San Francisco exchange was recently exploring a federal banking charter, other banking licenses, and had been meeting with U.S. regulators.
Reports had detailed that Coinbase had been visiting officials at the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in early 2018. The largest U.S. exchange by volume didn’t comment on the firm’s meeting with the OCC but made a general statement about dealing closely with government officials so they are sure they have the proper licenses. A federal banking charter would allow Coinbase to offer a plethora of banking features. Full story here
Binance to Launch a ‘Decentralized Community Owned Bank
Binance says the bank based in Malta will utilize cryptocurrency tokens and distributed ledger technology. The Office of the Prime Minister of Malta’s junior minister for financial services, digital economy, and innovation, Silvio Schembri, stated during the bank announcement, “We are honored to be chosen as the location of the first global community-owned bank.”
Binance and the Founders Bank are attempting to get a license in the EU so they can operate under the correct regulatory statutes. The firm explains that token investors will have ownership over the bank and Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s CEO, believes Malta could wind up being a hotspot for this type of financial technology. Full story here.
Litecoin Foundation Acquires 10 Percent Stake in German Bank
The Litecoin (LTC) Foundation has acquired a 9.9 percent stake in Germany’s WEG Bank AG. The deal is a result of a new strategic partnership with crypto-fiat payments firm TokenPay. The news comes from an official announcement published by TokenPay Tuesday, July 10.
TokenPay has now transacted its 9.9 percent equity share of the bank to the Litecoin Foundation in exchange for an agreement that will see the Foundation providing its blockchain, marketing and logistics expertise to the benefit of TokenPay’s cryptocurrency and business operations. Full story here
Disclosure: This post does not intend to provide investment nor does it represents that the securities or services discussed are suitable for any investor. Investors are advised not to rely on any information contained in the article in the process of making a fully informed investment decision.
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Do you think that a Crypto Bank could centralize what it is supposed to be decentralized?
Blockchain will decentralize the banking system unless they use Ripple - my two cents.