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Popular cryptocurrency custody firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) has stated that several U.S. banks will soon be offering Bitcoin-related services to their customers later this year.
CNBC reports today that NYDIG has entered into a partnership with Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) for the initiative.
Once the initiative is launched, existing U.S. traditional financial users will be able to buy, sell, and hold the largest cryptocurrency in their bank accounts.
Under the partnership, FIS will be in-charge of the link to the lender while NYDIG will take care of the trade execution as well as provide custody for the Bitcoin.
No Major U.S. Bank Has Been Enrolled
Confirming the development, Patrick Sells, head of banking solutions at NYDIG, said the service has already started achieving positive results, as hundreds of U.S. banks have been enrolled.
However, the interested participants are minor financial institutions like California-based community bank Suncrest, which has only seven branches in the region.
Sells disclosed that NYDIG is making significant efforts to woo major financial institutions into agreeing to the program.
He noted that the motive behind the move is to further push Bitcoin into mainstream adoption by allowing Americans, including retail and institutional investors, to procure the asset via the bank, while adding:
“If I’m using my mobile application to do all of my banking, now I have the ability to buy, sell, and hold bitcoin.”
Banks Jump on Bitcoin Bandwagon Amid Rally
It is no longer news that interest in Bitcoin has continued to spike since the beginning of the year, due to its rally.
Several investors have taken to crypto trading exchanges like Coinbase and Robinhood, among others, to purchase Bitcoin as they hope to save themselves from inflation.
This year alone, a large volume of BTC has been traded on these exchanges, which corroborates the fact that the interest in the asset class is growing tremendously.
Popular banks like JPMorgan, which did not initially want to have any dealings with cryptocurrencies, were forced to delve into the industry to retain their customers who also want to get a piece of what Bitcoin has been offering.
“This is not just the banks thinking that their clients want bitcoin, they’re saying, we need to do this, because we see the data,” Yan Zhao, president of NYDIG, said.
Zhao noted that although the program is designed for banks, there will be a disclosure stating that the banks will not handle Bitcoin and also all BTC deposits will not be FDIC insured.
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