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Two banks in Argentina will be allowing their clients to purchase cryptocurrencies via their official websites. The pair are Banco Galicia – the nation’s largest private bank in terms of market value, and Brubank – a fully digital bank.
The two entities have partnered with the crypto wallet Lirium for the new service, which will reportedly be available to clients on Monday. For Banco Galicia, the feature will first be available to customers whose salaries are directly deposited to the bank.
Banks in Argentina Embracing Crypto Trading
According to Bloomberg, Banco Galicia’s decision was fueled by high customer demand, especially from the younger generations. This was evident when 60% of the participants from one of its surveys said they would like to access crypto assets through the bank.
Two officials from the bank – Ariel Sanchez, the manager of investment products, and Nicholas de Giovanni – confirmed this, adding:
“The youth is the group that asks for this the most.”
The report also cited data from Chainalysis, which claims that Argentina is among the countries leading in terms of cryptocurrency adoption, ranked at 10th space worldwide.
Research conducted by the marketing communications agency Wunderman Thompson further noted that Argentinians are motivated to acquire cryptocurrencies due to the rising inflation – 50% per annum. Two-thirds of respondents said they are drawn to cryptocurrencies to mitigate declining purchasing power.
Other Banks in the Mix
It’s safe to say that a substantial portion of some of the world’s leading banks – namely, those based in the United States – have changed their tune on the crypto industry and have begun adopting the asset class after years of bashing it.
Around mid-2021, digital assets management firm NYDIG and the payments firm National Cash Register (NCR) partnered to enable US banks to offer crypto trading services via mobile apps. First-Citizens Bank is one of the beneficiaries of this initiative.
Additionally, Goldman Sachs reportedly plans on launching OTC Ether options trading following heightened demand from its clients. This comes after the Wall Street giant released OTC BTC options, filed to have a BTC ETF of its own, and restarted its cryptocurrency trading desk. Up until a year ago, Goldman, along with JPMorgan, were among the most vocal crypto critics.
America’s oldest bank – BNY Mellon – is one of the leaders in terms of digital asset adoption, having partnered with Grayscale, participated in crypto-related funding rounds, and launching its own set of such services.
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