It has taken years for Bitcoin to begin to be recognized as a financial asset worldwide. However, and after a long time during which traditional financial institutions refused to recognize the positive qualities of cryptocurrencies. Finally, traditional banks surrender to Bitcoin, beginning to offer specific products and services for the crypto market.
The relationship between Bitcoin and banks
Due to its characteristics and objectives as a virtual currency, Bitcoin has always had a rather strained relationship with traditional banks. Well, when Satoshi Nakamoto designed the cryptocurrency, he did so with the aim of decentralizing the global financial system. Withdrawing power from traditional institutions such as banks, and placing it in the users of the currency.
Added to this is a development in the rather volatile Bitcoin price. Which had scared off institutional investors, who have preferred not to risk investing in an asset whose value can collapse or skyrocket at any time and within a couple of hours. On the contrary, preferring financial products with lower profits, but with greater solidity.
However, after several years of constant growth in the crypto community, large financial institutions cannot continue to deny Bitcoin.
And it is that, the creation of an entire infrastructure around the cryptocurrency market, thanks to the participation of companies such as Grayscale and Binance, has laid the foundations for the birth and development of a new type of relationship between BTC and banks. Something that is reflected in the new products that these institutions are creating.
The advance to the crypto world
Thus, there are several dozen banks worldwide that are taking a step forward to enter the crypto market. With banks like the DBS Bank of Singapore announcing that it is set to launch its own crypto asset custody and exchange service. While SBI Holdings, one of the largest banks in Japan, is partnering with the Swiss exchange SDX to launch an exchange platform also in Singapore.
Other international banks such as Gazprombank (a subsidiary of the Russian energy company Gazprom), BBVA and Standard Chartered, are preparing custody services for their clients. With which they would accept cryptocurrencies as a valid financial asset for financial operations.
Of course, these advances are only the first step in the process of entering traditional banks into the world of cryptocurrencies. However, the fact that they are considering the launch of products related to this market is an important advance, undoubtedly driven by the growth in the price of Bitcoin in recent months.
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