NYDIG signs up hundreds of banks for bitcoin account offering
May 05, 2021 11:19 AM ET Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) By: Liz Kiesche, SA News Editor 28 Comments
Cryptocurrency-custody firm NYDIG says hundreds of banks have enrolled in a program that will allow them to offer to their customers the ability to buy, sell, or hold bitcoin ( BTC-USD).
Bitcoin rises 6.3% in the past 24 hours to ~$57.2K.
Most bitcoin adopters have used fintech apps like Robinhood ( RBNHD), PayPal ( PYPL -0.1%), Square ( SQ +2.6%), and Coinbase ( COIN +1.7%) to invest in bitcoin. And recently, some of the biggest banks have announced plans to allow their wealth management clients to buy, hold, or sell the cryptocurrency.
The crypto-custody firm teamed up with bank tech firm FIS ( FIS -0.4%) to introduce the offering.
NYDIG is in talks with some of the biggest U.S. banks regarding the product, Patrick Sells, head of bank solutions at NYDIG, told CNBC. Many of the banks that have already signed up are smaller institutions.
“This is not just the banks thinking that their clients want bitcoin, they’re saying `We need to do this, because we see the data,’” NYDIG President Yan Zhao said. “They’re seeing deposits going to the Coinbases and Galaxies and Krakens of the world.”
Banks will decide how much they'll charge customers for bitcoin transactions and will keep most of that fee revenue, Sells said.
After the inaugural bitcoin product, NYDIG intends to roll out other services, including debit card rewards paid in bitcoin and an FDIC-insured bank account that pays interest in bitcoin. |
