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Cryptocurrencies: 3 questions to ask your banker

Raphaël Bloch

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

While banks are making more and more progress on the subjects of tokenisation and crypto (read our report), it's still just as complicated for their customers to have one themselves. The Big Whale has selected three questions to challenge your banker.

👉 "Why can't I have cryptocurrencies?"

This is the basic question, the most obvious one, and for good reason, it concerns a lot of people!

For years, it's been quite complicated for bank customers to have cryptocurrencies. We're not talking about cryptocurrencies deposited directly into bank accounts (no bank on the planet allows this, or else it's exceptional), but quite simply owning cryptocurrencies via exchange platforms.

It's also possible to hold cryptos on a digital wallet (such as Ledger), which we recommend by the way, but the vast majority of people now have cryptocurrencies on platforms. And these same people, sometimes entrepreneurs in the ecosystem, regularly have their bank accounts closed because there are flows with the platforms.

Things have progressed somewhat, but with the exception of a few players, particularly the biggest ones like Coinbase, Binance, Bitpanda or Coinhouse, most platforms pose problems for banks, which close accounts...

To justify these decisions, banks often explain that they are unable to trace the origin of funds. This is one of the reasons why, in some cases, they ask their customers to sign a disclaimer to invest in cryptocurrencies.

However, all market players are now obliged to check the identity of their customers and the origin of the cryptos. Some crypto platforms are thus at least as diligent as traditional banks.

So what's the (real) problem?

👉 "Why can't I buy cryptocurrencies from you?"

If you ever want to go a little further, you can ask your banker why they won't allow you to buy cryptocurrencies directly.

That's right, after all, bankers have a "duty to advise," in other words to support customers, and they would be a perfect intermediary to guide you through this universe that is sometimes a little complicated to map out properly.

How much longer will banks refuse to offer cryptos directly? It's hard to know, but what is certain is that the number of customers holding them continues to rise 🚀.

According to the latest study by the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (Adan) realised by KPMG, 9.4% of French people hold crypto-assets, i.e. several million people. That could give more than a few people pause for thought!

👉 "What do you do in cryptocurrencies?"

As strange as it may seem, banks, which are therefore rather skittish about cryptos with their customers, are almost all getting interested in cryptos (read our report on the subject).

Some will tell you that they don't touch cryptocurrencies, and that the only thing they're interested in is "blockchain", but in reality the two subjects are intimately linked.

Unless you use private blockchains (therefore reserved for a few players, as Intranets are), it is not possible to use public blockchains such as Ethereum, without resorting to cryptocurrencies since the user will have to pay fees for each transaction.

Some banks such as Société Générale, with its subsidiary SG-Forge are among the most cutting-edge players on these subjects. The red and black bank has developed a whole platform with services for issuing tokens and managing cryptocurrencies, but for the moment this service is reserved for... businesses!"

Don't hesitate to ask your banker the 3 questions above. And above all, tell us what he answered! We may publish the best answers.

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This analysis is not investment advice. It has been prepared without taking into account your personal situation, particularly your financial situation, risk profile, and investment objectives.

Before investing in any product, investors should fully understand the risks involved and consult their own legal, tax, financial, and accounting advisors.

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