American Bankers Association (ABA) has a new bit of advice for banks in the United States - find a partner in crypto!

The ABA bases their suggestion on the success of those banks that already developed partnerships with crypto-focused firms, as those partnerships have proven to be profitable.

Mutually beneficial...

The banks can help the crypto firms and profit from assisting with custody of clients fiat cash, and offer their expertise in KYC procedures. 

On the other end, the ABA says banks could benefit and save money by utilizing crypto firms blockchain technology to offer cheaper transactions and lending.

The report mentions crypto/blockchain use cases for payments, lending exchange trading, broker-dealer insurance, network utility, and asset management.

“Blockchains represent a transparent and decentralized way of recording transactions, both financial and non-financial, but their use for the creation, storage, transfer, and trading of cryptocurrencies has grown exponentially over the past few years. At the same time, the crypto industry itself, while novel to many, has reached all-time highs in terms of market size, public interest, and company valuation” the reports summary reads.

Make love not war...

While many, and with valid reasons, are skeptical of big banks involvement anywhere in the space, there's also one reality we can't forget - if crypto takes a stance solely as competition to the banks, the banks will lobby for unfriendly regulation.

But if the banks can provide services that are actually needed, so they profit while at the same time being kept an arms length away and separate entities from the crypto companies, it may discourage them from using their (massive) political influence against crypto. 

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Author: Justin Derbek
New York News Desk
Breaking Crypto News