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Australia’s Banking Giant under scanner

The Commonwealth Bank is under Australia’s watchdog radar for its crypto services offering. The bank has some crispy plans for cryptocurrencies, but the regulator is keeping a close eye.

Australia’s banking authority said it was looking into the regulatory implications of Commonwealth Bank’s planned launch of Bitcoin services to inexperienced retail investors, which would make it the country’s first financial institution to do so.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has said that it would welcome a clear legal framework for cryptocurrency. Which is currently not officially regulated in Australia.

Financial watchdogs in Australia are being compelled to concentrate their attention immediately on the volatile $2 trillion cryptocurrency market, which many believe has no underlying value and depends on consumers’ entire reliance on various forms of software. 

Approximately a third of Australian adults currently use CBA’s industry-leading mobile banking app, which also provides energy retailer discounts and carbon emission tracking, after a phased experiment for 2,000 individuals.

Moreover, Commonwealth Bank’s cryptocurrency trading service will be delivered in conjunction with Gemini Trust Company, one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges founded in 2014 by the Winklevoss brothers.

Australia’s Bank Welcoming Regulations

For its part, CBA says it would welcome regulatory clarity in the field. Its product was developed with risk mitigation and regulatory issues in mind, both for the benefit of the bank and to ensure that customers feel secure while using the product. 

“We would really welcome regulatory clarity for crypto assets. We think it would improve the market, enhance trust, and it would raise the bar in terms of customer protection.”

Sophie Gilder, Commonwealth Bank’s head of Blockchain and Bank’s Project leader

She further spoke about complete transparency to seal the customer’s trust. In the case of CBA, the offering will be “a closed-loop” linked to a CBA bank account. And will be monitored for any possible suspicious behaviour using cryptocurrency anti-money laundering services provided by Chainalysis. 

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