Ukrainian e-bank Monobank has expressed its interest in wanting to offer customers bitcoin trading by July. The bank has applied to the Bank of Ukraine to approve its application for a bitcoin debit card. This comes as the Ukrainian government progresses on crypto-related legislation.
The announcement came from an earlier report which had cited the bank’s co-founder. Oleg Gorokhovsky who is the co-founder of Monobank had expressed optimism for bitcoin earlier this year. Gorokhovsky had said that Tesla’s $1.5 billion purchase of bitcoin this year had renewed his faith in the coin. And he believed that the digital asset was really here to stay.
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The co-founder had also given a prediction that he expected Bitcoin to hit $100,000 by the end of 2022.
Ukrainian Regulations
The Ukrainian government has been making moves towards effective crypto regulation in the country. A report from December 2020 had shown that the Ukrainian Parliament was deliberating in regards to menacing crypto regulations in the country.
Earlier that same year, the Ukrainian government had made it mandatory for citizens to report crypto holdings in tax filing.
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Although there are not yet confirmed regulations, authorities are working towards passing crypto regulations.
Ukraine’s deputy minister of the Ministry of Digital Transformation also announced that the authority had recommended the adoption of a second draft bill. The updated draft bill on virtual assets had been proposed for the second reading.
Monobank To Expose Its Customers To Bitcoin
The motivation behind the move for the bitcoin debit card seems like a straightforward one. Monobank wants its customers to be able to access bitcoin.
If approved, Monobank’s customers will be able to buy and sell bitcoin with just their debit card. The bank seems to be following in the footsteps of other banks which have also made similar moves.
With more demand from customers, banks are having to find ways to expose customers to digital assets. Banks currently are not allowed to hold digital assets due to regulatory issues. But that does not mean that their customers can’t hold digital assets.
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Banks like Goldman Sachs have offered customers bitcoin and ether options and futures. A way for customers to bet on the price of the digital assets without having to buy the coins themselves.
Gorokhovsky himself remains bullish on bitcoin. Pointing out that his personal portfolio contains a good amount of BTC. Advising investors that they should also invest in bitcoin.
Monobank plans to roll out this feature to its customers in July once they get approval from the Bank of Ukraine.
Featured image from Coinmama, chart from TradingView.com
