On Monday, a group of savings banks in Germany that have been averse to the idea of cryptocurrency since it made its appearance are considering offering a wallet to trade cryptocurrency.
These savings banks which hold over a trillion euros for thrifty Germans have always had a rigid standpoint on cryptocurrencies but they may finally be seeing the light as cryptocurrencies hold huge potentials. Everyone is digging into cryptocurrencies including customers of these savings banks. According to Reuters, these savings banks are entrusted with the savings and investments of roughly 50 million customers making up Germany’s biggest financial group. These savings banks may be looking to leverage the numbers they have by deciding to offer a crypto wallet. “The interest in crypto assets is huge”, a spokesman for the banks said.
The move comes against a backdrop of high inflation and penalty charges on banks and savers, fuelling a heated debate in Germany about central bank money printing, Reuters reported. It has prompted Germans to invest more in property and elsewhere to avoid what some have dubbed the ‘expropriation’ of their wealth, the report added. Last month, Helmut Schleweis, the president of the German Savings Bank Association, called the combination of low-interest rates and rising prices a “toxic mix,” saying it had become harder to stop the erosion of wealth.
Cryptocurrencies have taken over. They have crept into all aspects of human endeavours and if banks do not jump on the train, they might be left out on the infinite opportunities that lie within the world of cryptocurrencies. With a market capitalization of $1.2 trillion, Bitcoin remains the world’s largest cryptocurrency. In the past months, it’s had quite some ups and downs, fluctuating in price due to factors like fears of inflation, limited supply, etc.
Following the adoption of Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies have sprung up either as rivals or as coins that hope to thrive. These are called altcoins. Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, is one cryptocurrency aiming to become the backbone of a future financial system.
Banks (central banks) have, however, started to launch their central bank digital currencies so as not to be left behind in the digitalization of money.
