BBVA, a private bank based in Spain, released an article saying that Latam users are very interested in their crypto-powered solutions. The institution informed that close to 20% of the users of its New Gen accounts, which are accessible from Switzerland, are Colombians who are attracted by the crypto services offered by these accounts.
Colombians attracted to crypto services, according to BBVA
Cryptocurrency solutions and their associated services are more and more embraced by Latam users due to the characteristics of their economies. According to BBVA, a Spanish bank that offers services worldwide, Latam users are a large part of the customers attracted to the company’s crypto solutions. In an article, BBVA revealed that close to 20% of users of its New Gen accounts, which allow customers to invest in cryptocurrencies directly from their bank accounts, are Colombians.
This means that the citizens of this country are particularly attracted to this type of account, which offers bitcoin and ethereum trading associated with the possibility of exchanging these currencies with other fiat currencies from a digital wallet. According to data provided by BBVA, 37% of Colombians who visit the account website are interested in the services.
The services are Switzerland-based due to the clear cryptocurrency legal framework available in the country. In an interview offered to The Banker in June, BBVA’s managing director for Switzerland, Alfonso Gomez, referred to what prompted the company to offer crypto services from the country. He declared:
Switzerland is proactive. Finma, for example, is always willing to help. And the regulators are quite comfortable when traditional banks like BBVA approach them and say we are thinking about this kind of technology.
Crypto is catching on in Colombia
The interest that Colombian users have in cryptocurrency-based solutions has grown steadily, catching the interest of several exchanges that have brought their platforms to Colombians. Bitso and Ripio, both Latam-based crypto trading companies, have expanded to offer their services in the country this year.
The government in the country has also moved to begin regulating cryptocurrency assets and exchanges, with the country’s Financial Supervisory Authority proposing to establish rules to govern the relationship that virtual asset service providers (VASPs) have with banks.
Similarly, in June, the Colombian Congress approved a bill aimed at regulating the actions of cryptocurrency exchanges in its first discussion.
What do you think about the interest Colombians have in crypto-based solutions? Tell us in the comments section below.
Sergio Goschenko
Sergio is a cryptocurrency journalist based in Venezuela. Describing himself as late to the game, he entered the cryptosphere when the price surge occurred during December 2017. He has a computer engineering background, lives in Venezuela and is influenced by the cryptocurrency boom on a social level, offering a different point of view on crypto success and how it helps the unbanked and underserved.
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