The bank is federally chartered and users can buy, sell and have custody of cryptos from their checking account
Vast Bank has become the first bank in the US that is federally chartered to offer crypto services such as selling, buying, and having custody of cryptocurrencies from a checking account. The activity was approved by the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
Vast Bank customers can work with eight different cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Filecoin, Litecoin, Orchid, Algorand and Bitcoin Cash. From an FDIC-insured checking account, they can buy and sell those cryptos directly.
Bitcoin custody solutions also include a mobile trading platform with instant settlement to its accounts.
According to Vast Bank CEO Brad Scrivner, in an interview with Forbes, an in-house poll revealed that more than 60% of customers showed interest in Bitcoin and other cryptos, but also wanted to have a bank involved with the custody of cryptocurrency.
Financial Freedom
The decentralized ecosystem provided by blockchain technology, through which cryptocurrency protocols work, was made to ensure a safe and independent environment where intermediaries wouldn’t be necessary.
By choosing a decentralized ecosystem (such as self-custody wallets, for instance), you guarantee that the owner of your information is you and you alone. Actually, you don’t even have to share your personal information – you just have to generate a Private key through a 12 randomly generated words system that you’ll have to take note of so you don’t forget or lose.
Once the users understand the power and security provided by the blockchain technology, they won’t be so worried about banks involved in the process.
On the other hand, the step of banks adopting cryptos in their functional activities is somehow promising to expand the confidence in digital currencies, further adding legitimacy to the entire Bitcoin and crypto economy at large.
