Is it a trend or a step against the trend for banks to embrace Bitcoin transactions?

After digital bank Paypal announced that it would support transactions of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Singapore's largest commercial bank DBS was also revealed to be launching a digital asset exchange, initially supporting BTC, BCH, ETH and XRP transactions. In addition, JPMorgan Chase, which had repeatedly criticized Bitcoin, also changed its previous harsh tone and said that "Bitcoin's strong performance in 2020 is likely to continue."

Suddenly, it seems that the big banks that are familiar to everyone are secretly embracing Bitcoin, and even people in the industry are not used to this pace.

On the 21st of this month, after Paypal announced its support for Bitcoin, billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya, chairman of Social Capital, predicted:

“After PayPal’s news about supporting Bitcoin, all the major banks are meeting to discuss how to support Bitcoin, it is no longer an option…”

DBS Bank was the first traditional large bank to choose to jump out. Of course, this decision would inevitably involve regulatory issues, so less than an hour after the official page was released, DBS Bank hastily chose to hide the page.

A spokesperson for the bank told the media:

“DBS’s digital asset exchange plans are still ongoing and have yet to receive regulatory approval. No further announcements will be made until approval is obtained.”

In the content released yesterday, DBS Bank mentioned the following sentence:

“Digital assets will become the future of the digital economy.”

It can be seen that some traditional banks, represented by DBS Bank, have already set their sights on the digital asset market represented by Bitcoin.

Is it a trend or a step against the trend for banks to embrace Bitcoin transactions?

In people’s impression, banks seem to have always been hostile to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Of course, some small banks have chosen to go against the trend, but the attitude of mainstream banks has always been relatively resistant. In March this year, a spokesperson for Capital One said:

“Due to limited mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies and the increasing risks of fraud, loss, and volatility inherent in the cryptocurrency markets, Capital One is reducing credit card transactions used to purchase cryptocurrency.”

But that doesn’t mean that no banks are accepting Bitcoin, or that they aren’t trying to solve the problem.

Despite rumors and stereotypes that cryptocurrencies pose a threat to banks, the number of banks supporting Bitcoin continues to grow, with some smaller banks and online banks still supporting users to buy Bitcoin, while others, such as Simple Bank, have gone a step further and integrated cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet functions.

(A word of caution: Even if some banks allow you to buy cryptocurrencies with a credit card, it is best not to do so, as purchasing securities with a credit card often incurs transaction fees, which actually increases the final price of the security, making it more difficult for traders to achieve a favorable return on their investment.)

Here is a list of banks that currently support cryptocurrency transactions:

Of course, for now, more mainstream banks have chosen to ban or restrict Bitcoin transactions. The following is a partial list of those involved (Note: the attitudes of some banks may change over time)

Even in India, a country that is not very friendly to cryptocurrencies, some banks have begun to try to support Bitcoin transactions.

From prohibition to embrace, there are many examples like cryptocurrencies in human history. A recent well-known example is the Internet.

If you can't kill it, embrace it.

Related information:

1. https://www.banks.com/articles/investing/cryptocurrency/banks-that-accept-bitcoin/

2. https://www.8btc.com/article/661966

3. https://decrypt.co/46393/asian-bank-dbs-jumps-the-gun-with-bitcoin-trading-announcement