The Royal Bank of Canada is reportedly exploring a cryptocurrency trading platform for in-store and online purchases, as well as for investments. Moreover, the bank is also supposedly looking into allowing customers to open bank accounts that contain digital currencies.
In what looks like a serious step forward in terms of cryptocurrency adoption, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is reportedly exploring launching a trading platform for investments which would include Bitcoin, Ether, and other digital currencies.
Moreover, the bank is also looking into the opportunity of allowing its customers to open bank accounts that contain cryptocurrencies. RBC would be the very first bank in Canada to launch a cryptocurrency exchange or to offer accounts containing digital currencies.
Speaking on the matter was Marc Kaufman, a lawyer from a Washington-based firm, who outlined:
“I can’t think of one of the big banks anywhere in the world that has a patent that directly relates to a crypto exchange.”
This wouldn’t be the bank’s first foray into the field of cryptocurrencies as back in 2017, RBC announced that it uses blockchain-based technology to move payments to American banks. Later on, the bank also disclosed that it was using the technology to verify the identities of its clients.
Those who follow the cryptocurrency scene might have heard of the QuadrigaX scandal which took part in late 2018 and early 2019 when the CEO of the popular Canada-based exchange, Gerald Cotten, found his death in India.
Unfortunately, it was reported that Gerald Cotten was the only person who had access to the cold storage of the cryptocurrency exchange and, as such, the latter owed its clients roughly around $190 million.
Issues of the kind are among the main challenges that the nascent field of digital currencies needs to overcome to make adoption a plausible option.
Needless to say, a huge banking institution such as the Royal Bank of Canada and its ventures into Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, certainly look like a step in the right direction.