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The Commonwealth Bank will allows its customers to hold and buy Bitcoin

The Commonwealth Bank will allows its customers to hold and buy Bitcoin 2

BREAKING NEWS: Australia’s largest bank allows its customers to hold and use BITCOIN – here’s what it means for you

  • Commonwealth Bank will allow its 6.5million customers to buy and sell Bitcoin
  • Australia’s biggest bank will become one of the first in the world to allow this
  • Chief executive Matt Comyn acknowledged a ‘growing demand’ for digital coins


Australia’s biggest bank will allow its customers to buy and sell Bitcoin.

The Commonwealth Bank has announced a major shake-up that will see cryptocurrency traded on its banking app, making it a world leader and the first bank in Australia to allow this.

The bank’s 6.5million customers will be able to buy and sell digital currencies like Bitcoin in the way they can make share transactions on a CommSec app as younger consumers embrace decentralised finance.

Chief executive Matt Comyn has revealed a trial will be done in coming weeks with crytpo exchange group Gemini and blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.

‘We believe we can play an important role in crypto to address what’s clearly a growing customer need and provide capability, security and confidence in a crypto trading platform,’ he said.

ustralia's biggest bank will allow its customers to buy and sell Bitcoin. The Commonwealth Bank is set to announce a major shake-up that see cryptocurrency traded on its banking app.

ustralia’s biggest bank will allow its customers to buy and sell Bitcoin. The Commonwealth Bank is set to announce a major shake-up that see cryptocurrency traded on its banking app.

‘The emergence and growing demand for digital currencies from customers creates both challenges and opportunities for the financial services sector, which has seen a significant number of new players and business models innovating in this area.’

The big banks, until recently, had been opposed to cryptocurrency arguing there were risk with money laundering but now they are moving to win over younger customers.

Mr Comyn hinted to a parliamentary inquiry on September 23 he was more open to allowing cryptocurrencies to be traded on its platforms.

‘We have formed the view more recently that, yes, it is a higher-risk sector, but it is a sector, in some instances, that we feel that we can appropriately manage the risk in, leveraging some of the tools, techniques and providers that are available that we were just discussing,’ he said.  

The move is being announced a day after Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, slammed the big banks for shutting down accounts linked to cryptocurrency trading.

‘I’m just over it. I just think the banks are acting like a cartel and they’re de-banking people, there are legitimate businesses, because they are competitors,’ he told a Finder breakfast in Sydney.

Chief executive Matt Comyn has revealed a trial will be done in coming weeks with crytpo exchange group Gemini and blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. He hinted to a parliamentary inquiry in September he was open minded about cryptocurrency

 Chief executive Matt Comyn has revealed a trial will be done in coming weeks with crytpo exchange group Gemini and blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. He hinted to a parliamentary inquiry in September he was open minded about cryptocurrency

Australian Banking Association chief executive Anna Bligh, a former Queensland Labor premier, said the banks had to comply with anti-money laundering laws.

‘Any suggestion of cartel behaviour by banks at Senator Bragg’s committee is completely baseless,’ she told Daily Mail Australia. 

The Commonwealth Bank had been opposed to the likes off Afterpay, only to set up its own buy now, pay later app StepPay.

The Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre last week released a report  

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