Banco Galicia, Argentina’s largest private bank, has begun offering customers the ability to purchase four different cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Coin, and XRP.
Screenshots of the buying options were posted on Twitter earlier today by bank customers, and Banco Galicia later confirmed in an emailed statement that it had added those services.
XRP, the sixth-largest digital asset by market cap, is a cryptocurrency used to help banks move money around quickly.
USD Coin was also added
“The asset is backed by real U.S. dollars,” the bank said of USD Coin in a statement to Decrypt. “We consider that cryptocurrencies are not a threat to our business model because they do not compete with our traditional businesses.”
The move makes Buenos Aires-based Banco Galicia the first Argentine bank to offer cryptocurrency trading. It is also the first time that any major financial institution has made these currencies available to its customers.
The new service will allow clients to buy the asset directly through the bank’s mobile app or website. The bank is also offering a free account that lets users buy up a limited amount of each crypto per day.
“Our clients can buy these currencies through our online platform,” said a spokesperson for the company.
The bank has not yet responded to Decrypt’s request for comment on whether it will also allow customers to sell their digital assets through its website or whether it will provide any other services related to cryptocurrency trading.
Banco Galicia’s move comes just days after other Argentinian banks—Banco Masventas y Banco Macro—expanded their crypto offering beyond Bitcoin into other crypto assets like XRP and Ethereum Classic (ETC), as well as a stablecoin called Dai designed by MakerDAO.
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