Apple Magazine - USA - Issue 524 (2021-11-12)

(Maropa) #1

WHAT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY BANKING?


The term cryptocurrency banking could be
considered a misnomer, since the exchange
companies and firms that offer these services
aren’t technically banks, but it generally refers to
the ways in which consumers can manage their
cryptocurrency balances. At this stage, this kind
of banking mostly just allows people to hold
their funds in a digital wallet or spend it like they
would spend traditional money.


BENEFITS OF CRYPTOCURRENCY
BANKING

At this time, the main benefit of this kind of
banking is cryptocurrency debit cards. They
allow you to use your digital coin balance
like any other currency to make everyday
purchases or withdraw it as cash instead of
keeping it as an investment.


Before these debit cards were available, you
could spend your cryptocurrency only at
retailers that chose to accept it directly or
sell it in exchange for dollars. Now, financial
technology firms are partnering with chartered
banks and/or debit card issuers to offer these
cards, using their partner’s logistical and
regulatory framework to automatically sell your
cryptocurrency behind the scenes, converting
it into dollars and allowing retailers to accept it.
This means that your digital funds are accepted
wherever many regular debit cards are.


BARRIERS OF CRYPTOCURRENCY
BANKING

Perhaps the biggest barrier to lending and
spending cryptocurrency is how volatile it is.

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