the Commonwealth Bank It will allow its clients to buy and sell cryptocurrencies through its application, in the first move of its kind by a major Australian bank.
Australia's largest bank announced Wednesday that it had partnered with US-based crypto exchange Gemini and blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis to offer the service to its 6.5 million CommBank app users.
Clients will be able to buy up to 10 crypto assets, including bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
The bank will carry out a pilot test in the coming weeks, before a broader launch in 2022.
"We believe that we can play an important role in crypto to address what is clearly a growing need from customers and provide capacity, security and trust in a crypto trading platform," CBA CEO Matt Comyn said in a release.
The bank said that research on its clients found that many had expressed interest in crypto assets or were already trading cryptocurrencies through exchanges.
“Customers have raised concerns regarding some of the crypto services on the market today, including the friction of using third-party exchanges, the risk of fraud, and a lack of trust in some new providers. That's why we see this as an opportunity to provide a reliable and secure experience for our customers, ”said Comyn.
Dr. Dimitrios Salampasis, professor of fintech leadership and entrepreneurship at Swinburne Business School, said he was not surprised that CBA had entered the crypto arena.
He said the bank was trying to gain the advantage of being the first to move in Australia and hoped it would give the crypto space more legitimacy.
"Having this coming from a systemic bank and the largest in Australia is definitely a move that will change a lot," he said.
"And hopefully it will bring legitimacy, it will bring more harmonization, it will push for more regulation, and it will also minimize unbanking, which has been a huge pain for all crypto startups in particular."
Unbanking is when financial institutions refuse to offer services to companies in Australia.
A report by the Senate Select Committee on Fintech Services in Australia, released this month, cited several crypto deals that had been rejected by dozens of financial institutions in Australia, such as the Bitcoin Babe exchange.
The committee, chaired by Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg, recommended the government regulates the sector to allow it to fully operate in Australia, including a market licensing regime for digital currency exchanges, and for the government to develop a clear process for companies to deal with unbanking.
Salampasis said that the committee's report, coupled with CBA's gradual move into the sector, will likely further encourage cryptocurrency regulation in Australia.
"There has to be regulation, there has to be provisions, especially in relation to custody, especially in relation to licensing," he said.
"I think Australia has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a leader in the space and really push a full regulatory framework around cryptocurrencies."
Bragg welcomed the CBA announcement.
“For too long, banks have sidelined cryptocurrencies as an illegitimate fringe pursuit. I am pleased that the tide is turning as digital assets are being integrated, ”he said.
"Now that banks are embracing crypto, they should stop 'unseating' Australian workers."
The CBA told the committee that it "does not have a policy" on unseating due to "competitive or market factors," but when we make a decision on loans to new clients, "we take into account a number of risk considerations, including the terms and conditions of all loan documentation and possible security provisions provided. "
