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Turkish bank Garanti BBVA launches cryptocurrency wallet and trading services
Garanti BBVA Digital Assets, a subsidiary of Garanti BBVA Financial Technologies, has launched a crypto wallet and trading platform that allows its customers to buy, sell and store Bitcoin, Ethereum and USD Coin seamlessly via the bank’s mobile app.
The new “Garanti BBVA Crypto” service started as a beta test with a limited user base before being rolled out to all customers after successful trials. The bank said it plans to further expand its crypto capabilities and improve the experience for users embracing this new digital asset class.
Jeremy Allaire, CEO of cryptocurrency finance firm Circle, tweeted: “One of Turkey’s largest retail banks has just given the green light to use USDC and launched an integrated crypto wallet. A watershed moment.”
One of the largest retail banks in Turkey, a subsidiary of BBVA, has just launched direct support for using USDC and a native crypto wallet. Follow the money. https://t.co/HcH2SvSwI7
—Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) June 15, 2024
But cryptocurrencies are not the only fintech frontier that Garanti BBVA is exploring. The bank will soon unveil the Bonus Platinum Biometric Card, which will allow customers to authorize transactions via fingerprint scanning for added security and convenience.
Garanti BBVA is too launch a “Request Payment” feature to facilitate digital money transfers as customer needs evolve
While exciting, the bank’s move into cryptocurrencies highlights the challenges traditional finance faces with these new digital assets. US regulators recently looked into it Evolve Bank and Trust on anti-money laundering issues related to collaboration with fintechs in difficulty. Likewise, the Swiss crypto bank FlowBank was closed due to insufficient capital.