[2018-02-19] Canadian Bank to Offer Secure Vault for Cryptocurrencies

[FollowSynergy]

VersaBank Inc., Canada’s smallest bank in terms of assets, is responding to the need for digital asset security by creating a digital vault that will be available by June.

The bank recently hired Gurpreet Sahota, a cybersecurity expert, from Blackberry Ltd., a company long seen as an encryption and security leader. Sahota will oversee the design of the “VersaVault” that will store digital assets on computer servers, according to Bloomberg.

David Taylor, VersaBank’s CEO, said most peoples’ assets are contained in some type of digital format, be it a contract, deed or cryptocurrency.


Vault To Be Secure

VersaBank will not be able to access or know what contents are in the vault. Taylor said having no way to open the vault ensures its privacy.

VersaBank is responding to the need for digital security, an area which is calling for attention given the recent heist of more than $500 million from Coincheck Inc., a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange. Hackers usually gain access to cryptocurrency exchanges through their Internet connected wallets.

Taylor said large funds have indicated an interest in storing their assets in VersaVault since it was announced last month. The pricing for the service has not been determined, but Taylor said the service will be expensive.

Several U.S. banks have said they are halting cryptocurrency purchases on credit cards, citing security concerns.

Digital Asset Security Efforts

VersaBank is not the first company to respond to the need for digital asset security.

Xapo Inc. has offered secure bitcoin storage for around four years.

Goldmoney Inc., a Toronto-based firm that allows clients buy, sell and store precious metals in vaults in seven countries, began offering bitcoin storage in September.

Shinhan Bank in South Korea said in November that it intends to build a bitcoin vault by midyear.

A Banking Pioneer

Taylor introduced a branchless bank in Canada in 1993, four years before ING Groep NV offered telephone banking as ING Direct.

VersaBank operates on a branchless electronic model, gathering deposits from brokers and buying loan and lease receivables from non-bank financial firms. The bank also works with partners to provide financing for retail and small businesses.

VersaBank has a market value of about $126 million, 80 employees and has outperformed Canada’s big banks. Its shares rose 24% this year compared to a 2.9% decline of the eight-company S&P/TSX Commercial Banks Index.

Last year VersaBank rose 19% compared to the banks index’s 11% gain.

https://www.ccn.com/canadian-bank-to-offer-secure-vault-for-digital-assets/

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[Mikhail 777]

Good news for large investors, I think they will enter the market later when a law for regulation and investment in crypto-currencies will be created. Such banks will be needed since it is dangerous to store everything on your computer.

[okae]

I really understand that there is people who are scared to stored everything on his own computers but this is a step that must be done, people should broke that fear, i'm not saying that in "some occasions" will not be useful, but if they want to use crypto with the implicit freedom that entails, they must start to learn to do it yes or yes...

[aigeezer]

Give me your watch and I'll tell you the time.

[gentlemand]

This seems like a sensible course for banks to take. Whether we like it or not the average person is going to trust a bank over themselves when it comes to securing money.

I would absolutely love to know what their situation is regarding insurance. I can't imagine the average insurer is going to be too enthusiastic about taking this on. And let's hope Mr. Sahota knows his stuff. There may be some fatal gaps in his knowledge if he's coming into crypto cold.

[richardsNY]

Give me your watch and I'll tell you the time.

For real. The funniest thing is that people have been talking about how crypto allows them to avoid banks and whatnot, but fail to realize that with using exchanges and potentially bank-crypto-vault services, they are subject to the same centralization and corporational dictatorship as is the case with banks and other fiat centered corporations. I don't mind people to openly say that they don't care about Bitcoin's decentralization aspect, and don't mind to use a service like the one being portrayed in this article, but at least don't act like a complete hypocrite by saying that you hate the control banks have over your wealth, while in the meanwhile you happily park your crypto funds in whatever online wallet service.

[hatshepsut93]

Give me your watch and I'll tell you the time.

For real. The funniest thing is that people have been talking about how crypto allows them to avoid banks and whatnot, but fail to realize that with using exchanges and potentially bank-crypto-vault services, they are subject to the same centralization and corporational dictatorship as is the case with banks and other fiat centered corporations. I don't mind people to openly say that they don't care about Bitcoin's decentralization aspect, and don't mind to use a service like the one being portrayed in this article, but at least don't act like a complete hypocrite by saying that you hate the control banks have over your wealth, while in the meanwhile you happily park your crypto funds in whatever online wallet service.

I think some people just don't believe that they would be able to defend their home against robbers, so they outsource their security to banks. But Bitcoin can improve the problems with trust, because you can split keys into shards that are useless on their own, so the bank won't be able to rob you. Winklevoss brothers did this with their coins.
Those who choose to be their own bank to full extent will have to invest a lot in security, as even now criminals have started targetting crypto owners - in past few months there were multiple reports of kidnappings and robberies.

[bbc.reporter]

VersaBank is responding to the need for digital security, an area which is calling for attention given the recent heist of more than $500 million from Coincheck Inc., a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange. Hackers usually gain access to cryptocurrency exchanges through their Internet connected wallets.

It's the age old tactic of using fear to manipulate the people into thinking that a government or an institution has the solution to the problem. Sometimes, in the case of dirty politicians, they secretly create the problem to cause that fear needed to make a law or a proposed bill look essential.

[superjeyy]

I actually don't understand why we need banks now to store our Bitcoin for us when the wallets that we own are good enough. I thought one of the aspects about Bitcoin that people loved is how it is decentralized and you attain the financial freedom you can't have with fiat. Bringing in crypto-vault banks would just defeat this purpose. Also take note that the bank establishing this idea is the smallest bank in Canada in terms of assets. Doesn't that seem a little bit fishy? We all know how cryptocurrency has been making headlines all over the world. I feel like this bank is trying to be one step ahead of others by having a crypto vault with all these features that they offer without understanding the true stucture of cryptocurrency. Don't get me wrong, the intention is there but there's just really something tricky going on here.

[gentlemand]

I actually don't understand why we need banks now to store our Bitcoin for us when the wallets that we own are good enough.

Because most people don't understand the slightest thing about online security. If they got a desktop wallet they'd use 'password' as the password and carry on cruising porn sites with no anti virus.

Even hardened computer pros slip up with crypto. Grandma would be better off with a bank unless she gets a crash course and sticks to it.

[richardsNY]

Those who choose to be their own bank to full extent will have to invest a lot in security, as even now criminals have started targetting crypto owners - in past few months there were multiple reports of kidnappings and robberies.

It's not that storing Bitcoin securely requires a lot space or hardware that needs to be invested in. If you want and feel comfortable enough, you just need a piece of paper containing your private keys, which can be stored literally anywhere in your house, without any robber being able to find it. If you combine that with total silence regarding your crypto holdings, no one will ever notice you as a major holder, and thus won't be a walking target. I personally use a Trezor and Ledger Nano S, and a paper wallet to store my cold wallet coins in three seperate batches. Basically, a hardware wallet is also a paper wallet since you always rely on your recovery seed to gain access to your coins in case your original device stops working or gets lost. People aren't used to carry the responsibility of maintaining their own wealth, I think that's the main problem....