Banca Generali – an Italian Bank aimed at private banking and wealth management – plans to launch Bitcoin trading services in early 2022. These services will be enabled through integration with Conio – a Bitcoin wallet/exchange app.
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Bitcoin in Italy
Financial magazine “We Wealth” provided information Details of the bank’s new services last month. Apparently, 300,000 Banca customers will be able to create Bitcoin wallets directly from their bank accounts, thanks to Conio. The company previously invested millions of dollars in Conio, which shares locations in both San Francisco and Italy.
Both companies started working together in December 2020, initially planning to launch the service in 2021. However, Riccardo Renna – Chief Operating Officer at Banca – is confident that the project will launch early in the year. now. He said:
From that point on, clients will be able to safely operate on an asset class that could be at risk if approached incorrectly.
The new services offer the advantage of buying Bitcoin simply by funding one’s debit or credit account, rather than using a third-party payment provider. It also features a unique multi-sig wallet solution to enhance security and ensure that wallets can be recovered in the event of force majeure. Renna said:
We know that the future structure of the financial markets will inevitably be influenced by the continuing development of blockchain technology. We are working with Conio to study the adaptability of blockchain to our processes and systems.
Banks that provide Bitcoin services
Many major banks have announced plans to adopt similar Bitcoin wallet services in recent weeks. The most notable of these is the German Savings Banks Association (aka Sparkasse), a network of 400 banks around the country. Their service alone has been able to provide easily accessible cryptocurrency services to over 50 million people.
Shortly after, two other major German banks announced plans to integrate crypto wallets, including Commerzbank and Volks-und Raiffeisenbank. Most recently, a New Jersey-based retail bank partnered with Bakkt — a crypto custody service provider — to start allowing customers to trade cryptocurrencies.