Argentina’s Largest Private Bank Now Lets You Buy XRP

May 3, 2022 9:40 pm Comments

The largest private bank in Argentina, Banco Galicia, just announced that the bank will now allow its users to either buy or sell cryptocurrencies directly on its platform.

The new capability is available in the investments section of the user platform and allows the customer access to four main cryptocurrencies.

The digital assets that the users can buy include XRP, BTC, ETH, and USDC which means that these four digital assets are now exposed to all customers of Argentina’s largest private bank.

As a result, this increased exposure is expected to increase the trading volume and market cap of these four digital assets and accelerate adoption of them within Argentina.

This new service is possible due to Banco Galicia’s partnership with Lirium which is a crypto wallet that is made for banking apps.

CoinDesk reports:

The bank added a feature in the investment section of its app for users to acquire bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), USDC and XRP, telling its customers that it is a new tool.

CoinDesk verified this by logging onto the platform.

It’s the latest tie-up between financial incumbents and service providers looking to bring crypto to the masses – be it PayPal tapping Paxos or NYDIG working with U.S. credit unions.

When a user asked the bank on Twitter if the service was available, Banco Galicia said yes and added that it was adding new investment options.

Banco Galicia is offering its users the ability to buy and sell crypto, but does not allow them to withdraw or send crypto, Lirium COO Martin Kopacz told CoinDesk, adding that the bank also offers a custody feature.

Banco Galicia plans to roll out the service to all of its customers by mid-May, Kopacz noted.

Lirium has also worked with other major financial institutions so its ability to provide crypto trading services matches exactly what the large private bank was looking for.

With this new move, Banco Galicia joins a long list of banks around the world that are starting to enter the digital asset space due to its future potential growth.

Commerzbank, Germany’s fourth largest bank, had also announced digital asset exchanges services last month which means that this latest move is part of an ongoing trend where large financial banks are finally onboard.

The embrace of digital assets like XRP and BTC come during a time when the country is battling high levels of inflation of its native fiat currency which is the peso.

Blockworks.co reports:

Banco Galicia, which is listed on the Nasdaq and the Buenos Aires stock exchange, is the first major bank in the country to provide such services.

But it won’t be the only one: Digital bank Brubank SAU will also offer crypto trading services, including bitcoin, ether and USDC, starting this week as well.

Until now, Argentines had to use centralized exchanges through wallets or trade directly through over-the-counter exchanges.

Argentina has been grappling with high inflation and the devaluation of its currency, the peso, for years now. In 2017 it received a $44 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund, the institution’s largest-ever relief package.

Locals in turn have started investing in crypto to protect their savings from shrinking purchasing power.

With the largest bank of Argentina only selecting four digital assets for its exchange trading services, the assets which include XRP and BTC are expected to benefit the most from the increased volume.

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