Journalist Gerald Fenech shared his opinion on why banks can change their attitude to cryptocurrency next year.
Looking at the state of the blockchain industry in 2018, one wonders: is it really crypto banking for those from whom traditional banks have turned away, or is the opposite happening, that is, deprivation of access to financial services of those who used them without any problems?
After an incredible increase in 2017, which attracted incredible attention to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, 2018 was marked by an equally strong response from regulators for a year. Yes, in most jurisdictions, bitcoin is legal, but more and more often you may encounter obstacles when using one or another cryptocurrency.
In some countries, including cryptocurrency hubs like the US or Israel, banks can block user accounts if they withdraw funds from cryptocurrency exchanges or exchangers, and as a result, many sellers who have previously accepted bitcoins now refuse to do so in order not to set up their business threatened.
Such draconian measures are not always regulated by the government - more often banks are reinsured on their own initiative, citing anti-money laundering legislation. Although tracking bitcoins and most cryptocurrencies is much easier than finding a source of cash, most banks treat them as “illegal money” and refuse to deal with them, and it is often difficult to understand what it is: fear of possible competition or just laziness.
However, it is possible that 2019 will be a turning point in this issue, since regulatory instability, contradictory banking policies and the general inconsistency of institutions in this field have created a huge demand for a transparent and user-friendly solution that could fill gaps in modern banking services.
In fact, the first cryptocurrency bank has already obtained a license and is working: EQIBank plans to open the first private and corporate accounts in December - its customers will be able to keep cryptocurrency on insured accounts, like international currencies. The bank will also have its own exchange platform and a system of mutual loans between customers.
As an offshore bank regulated by international standards, EQIBank will be the first legal link between cryptocurrency markets and the international financial system, but hardly the last. Several small European banks are also in a hurry to jump on a cryptocurrency train and include working with bitcoins in their service packages.
Since a complete ban on cryptocurrencies is more a private initiative of individual banks, rather than the will of the regulator, these new small players have real chances to capture a larger market share. Today, thousands of completely law-abiding enterprises and individuals are denied access to banking services, and if representatives of traditional finance do not turn to face them, obviously, there will be someone else.
After the first cracks form in this cartel dam, the flow will not be stopped - traditional banks will rush to catch up with them in order to return some of the lost customers. So one should not be surprised when they suddenly drastically change their attitude to cryptocurrencies, declaring the blockchain an excellent tool to help abide by anti-money laundering legislation (and this is true). It is unlikely that this will happen overnight, but, quite possibly, already in 2019, cryptocurrency will become part of the global financial system.