For the first time, banks will offer their clients the possibility of buying, selling, and securing Bitcoin through their bank accounts, according to the companies in a statement.
Hundreds of U.S. Banks Will Offer Bitcoin Trading This Year. The New York Digital Group (NYDIG) firm, a provider of technology solutions and financial services dedicated to Bitcoin, reported that it partnered with the financial technology company Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) to ease the adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) to the US banks.
FIS, which provides banking services to almost 300 million checking accounts, will handle the relationship with lenders. NYDIG will control the custody of Bitcoin and the commercial execution.
The agreement also considers using the digital banking platform FIS Digital One™ Mobile to allow banks to provide Bitcoin services “through a seamless and easy-to-use digital experience,” allowing banks to “generate revenue from fees. And attract and retain customers“.
According to the US network CNBC, hundreds of banks have shown interest in participating in this initiative. Most financial entities that accepted the services of NYDIG and FIS are retail banks. Among those is Suncrest, a small California-based bank with seven branches.
NYDIG Partnership
For NYDIG president Yan Zhao, this new partnership results from banks increasingly observing how their customers send money to exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken. Zhao indicated that all people with a bank account would acquire Bitcoin, even with one US dollar. “We think that is huge for the economic empowerment” of people.
This new step by small banks could pressure financial giants such as Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley. Big banks offer cryptocurrency custody services only to wealthy clients to turn their attention to retailers, said Rob Lee, director of digital banking at FIS. Lee noted that the demand for Bitcoin as a value store is rising. They want to “allow financial institutions to respond to growing market demand and better serve their customers.“
NYDIG also wants a Bitcoin ETF
NYDIG is a firm that has been making its way into the Bitcoin world and has bet big to be a relevant player in the industry. Last February, some news outlets reported that the company had submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a request to approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded investment fund (ETF).
So far, the SEC has not responded to the more than eight requests for Bitcoin ETFs submitted by different organizations. However, they could be “very productive years” for cryptocurrencies, Hester Peirce, commissioner of the body, recently declared concerning Gary Gensler, the new president of the SEC.