The one-year pilot program will enable several Bancolombia customers to buy cryptocurrencies directly from their bank accounts. Gemini will offer Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash trading in partnership with the local bank starting in December.
Colombian-based cryptocurrency lovers will soon trade cryptocurrencies using their bank accounts. This follows a partnership between the U.S.-based Gemini cryptocurrency exchange and Colombia’s leading private bank, Bancolombia.
More banking institutions offer cryptocurrency services
According to an announcement by Gemini’s principal of strategy and corporate development, Cynthia Del Pozo García, the exchange will let a small group of the bank’s customers trade Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Bitcoin cash through an on-and-off-ramp. The initiative is part of Colombia’s new regulatory sandbox. It is slowly beginning to bear fruit as more banking institutions offer cryptocurrency services to their clients through arrangements with leading crypto firms. Del Pozo García said in a statement:
“The partnership also serves as an important step toward the strategic expansion of Gemini’s presence in Latin America. We look forward to working closely with the Colombian crypto ecosystem and to supporting crypto products that empower Colombians to take control of their financial lives.”
Bancolombia is a commercial bank belonging to the holding company Grupo Bancolombia, which has operations in Colombia, Panama, Guatemala, and El Salvador and serves 17.8 million users, according to its 2020 report. The bank will handle the client’s fiat funds, while Gemini will provide the infrastructure to exchange and custody of cryptocurrencies, whether for withdrawals, deposits, or HODLing of assets.
The first to involve a top cryptocurrency exchange
Colombia’s unique regulatory sandbox is the first-among-equals in Latin America and has gained ground since it was launched in April. The sandbox is one among nine other approved projects that have managed to progress beyond the planning phase. The MOVii-Bitpoint initiative plans to integrate both platforms so that users can buy crypto on Bitpoint via their MOVii fiat accounts.
The joint Bancolombia and Gemini project would be the second of nine to move forward and the first to involve a top cryptocurrency exchange. Though Binance, Bitso, and other exchanges have their names attached to other projects, no progress has been made beyond the initial design phase.
Tom is a long-serving freelance writer who specializes in the blockchain and cryptocurrency niche. You may even call him a crypto-enthusiast with over 10-years’ experience in content creation, blog writing, and SEO. He is a philosophical figurehead who believes that to make our world a better place, we must invest in incorruptible products and procedures, of which Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are leading examples.
