Kraken becomes first exchange offically declared as a US bank

[rdbase]

"On Wednesday September 16, 2020 the Wyoming Banking Board voted to approve the San Francisco-based crypto exchange's application for a special purpose depository institution (SPDI) charter so Kraken can now be considered an official SPDI bank in Wyoming."

source: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/kraken-becomes-first-crypto-exchange-to-become-a-us-bank-2020-09-16

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[electronicash]

someone already posted a thread about this subject which is this link https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5276235

not the kind of transition that a crypto fan would like but its happening. very disappointing but maybe an indication that crypto adoption could be widely be accepted. banks will still have a place in the future.

[ILuckyGuyI]

It is the first ever crypto exchange to become a bank but I am not so happy about this news. I am curious about why a crypto exchange would like to do something not related to the industry. Because the crypto and fiat systems are different from each other.

[avikz]

someone already posted a thread about this subject which is this link https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5276235

not the kind of transition that a crypto fan would like but its happening. very disappointing but maybe an indication that crypto adoption could be widely be accepted. banks will still have a place in the future.

I don't know what makes you disappointed about this news, but possibly that's the future. As a crypto fan, if you want to see adoption among the masses, this is the way forward! I think you should be cheering about this news because a crypto exchange is now named as a special purpose bank instead of seeing a mainstream bank named as a crypto company! I am sure we will be seeing more and more such news from around the world because Banks will have to with evolve or they will loose the battle of business in the future world.

I find such kind of news amazing because it excites me about the inclusion possibility that cryptocurrencies will be enjoying. Think about the credibility factors as well. Cryptos are lacking that part big time. Such kind of news will level the playing field for cryptos in the world of economy!

[meanwords]

Change is inevitable I guess. With banks implementing cryptocurrencies into their system, the level of adoption would surely rise especially that kraken is one of the most reputable exchange internationally. This also serves as a way to lessen the stereotype that cryptocurrency is a scam so I'm pretty excited on how this news will impact the future development of both banks and cryptocurrencies.

[mk4]

It is the first ever crypto exchange to become a bank but I am not so happy about this news. I am curious about why a crypto exchange would like to do something not related to the industry. Because the crypto and fiat systems are different from each other.

Maybe actually read the article first?

"becoming a bank we get direct access to federal payments infrastructure, and we can more seamlessly integrate banking and funding options for customers, said David Kinitsky."

It's basically so instead of them bowing down and kneeling to every hurdles and requirements certain banks require them and prevent them from doing, they'll start their own bank instead to prevent these unnecessary problems; hence making their operations a lot easier.

[DooMAD]

Presumably this means the regulators are satisfied they've got sufficient funds to meet the standard bank requirements for fractional reserve.  Y'know, since people always tend to assume exchanges are full-reserve.   

I think you're all clever enough to know that fiat banks aren't full-reserve.  Maybe it's about time we stopped thinking of exchanges like that, since they're probably not.

[NotATether]

Presumably this means the regulators are satisfied they've got sufficient funds to meet the standard bank requirements for fractional reserve.  Y'know, since people always tend to assume exchanges are full-reserve.   

I think you're all clever enough to know that fiat banks aren't full-reserve.  Maybe it's about time we stopped thinking of exchanges like that, since they're probably not.

Ironically I made a thead a few days ago pointing out how US banks went zero reserve.

The thing is, your average exchange has to stay full reserve, because if they go fractional reserve and suddenly everyone dumps their  platform, some users won't get their money since the exchange will be insolvent, and a scam accusation and legal charges can be brought against the exchange.

Coincidentially, the above doesn't happen to fractional reserve fiat banks, they're bailed out or simply bankrupted instead

[fiulpro]

Without any doubt , they need to go international , open some more branches out there in every country , the crypto holders and traders have been tormented by the situation where even though the cryptocurrencies are Legal in their country they still make it very difficult for the users to actually use their bank accounts for the same.

I do think we could before this news divide the banks into :
Crypto friendly banks
Banks that HATE cryptocurrencies

But now we have , Kraken , which undoubtedly will Change the whole situation , it's a bank from a crypto application!! Such a positive news

(I am aware this topic has been discussed but I do believe it does not matter much since I believe OP did not see that )

[Haunebu]

This is a positive move in the right direction, but it is a small step forward to be honest. A particular state in USA declaring a crypto exchange as a legal entity does not matter much in the grand scale of things.

What matters is the big banks approving BTC and other popular cryptocurrencies as payment methods which would help push crypto adoption rates through the roof around the world.

This is only possible of the governments regulate cryptocurrencies in an efficient and effective manner.

[mk4]

Does this mean that Kraken has gone over to the side of evil? It seems to me that they did not take the right path of development.

You might want to read the article. Kraken's move was pretty much similar to a retail business just creating their own production factory instead of having to pay a 3rd party.

[posi]

Now the question is, would Kraken become most-friendly banks towards it's customer who uses Bitcoin or have transaction that related with Bitcoin (outside of usage where customer uses Kraken to trade Bitcoin)

Base on their statement, I presumed they will cause the 3rd party habit towards cryptocurrency to fiat seems to be the reason they fight for SPDI bank charter which will allow Kraken to perform the role independent bank instead of relying on financial institutions.
If Binance and other big exchange site could do the same there's a huge chance for crypto to be mainstream of payment before the end of this year.

[DoublerHunter]

Now the question is, would Kraken become most-friendly banks towards it's customer who uses Bitcoin or have transaction that related with Bitcoin (outside of usage where customer uses Kraken to trade Bitcoin)

Base on their statement, I presumed they will cause the 3rd party habit towards cryptocurrency to fiat seems to be the reason they fight for SPDI bank charter which will allow Kraken to perform the role independent bank instead of relying on financial institutions.
If Binance and other big exchange site could do the same there's a huge chance for crypto to be mainstream of payment before the end of this year.

^ Even though it did not appear as what we were expected and liked, having a cryptocurrency bank is enough to and to be considered. It's just that, it still seems like Kraken is becoming centralized in the future in my assumption. The founders and the management will still be able to manipulate it so its still not far from a corporate bank. The term and the process just changed. Nevertheless, I smell that this exchange will be the big competitor of Binance, but for now its far away when we talk volume.

[posi]

Now the question is, would Kraken become most-friendly banks towards it's customer who uses Bitcoin or have transaction that related with Bitcoin (outside of usage where customer uses Kraken to trade Bitcoin)

Base on their statement, I presumed they will cause the 3rd party habit towards cryptocurrency to fiat seems to be the reason they fight for SPDI bank charter which will allow Kraken to perform the role independent bank instead of relying on financial institutions.
If Binance and other big exchange site could do the same there's a huge chance for crypto to be mainstream of payment before the end of this year.

^ Even though it did not appear as what we were expected and liked, having a cryptocurrency bank is enough to and to be considered. It's just that, it still seems like Kraken is becoming centralized in the future in my assumption. The founders and the management will still be able to manipulate it so its still not far from a corporate bank. The term and the process just changed. Nevertheless, I smell that this exchange will be the big competitor of Binance, but for now it's far away when we talk volume.

Your presumption about Kraken to be more centralized is the truth but they don't have a choice if they wanted to achieve the charter bank approval they have to accept some government rules and the same thing will happen in the future if we want crypto to be mainstream.
Concern Kraken to be a big competitor to Binance, anything is possible but they will have to constantly in creating new features.

[verita1]

I am pleased with the latest news from Kraken. Now called Kraken financial which is the first digital asset company in the U.S. It will offer deposit-taking, custody and fiduciary services for digital assets. With a view to world expansion. It is worth reading the article on Kraken financial to know all the services it will be offering.
I think the massive adoption will come from the U.S.

https://blog.kraken.com/post/6241/kraken-wyoming-first-digital-asset-bank/

[hatshepsut93]

Though I'm not quite enthusiastic about Kraken or exchanges becoming banks, still this is some positive news, because Bitcoin-related business was allowed to work under better conditions, so it's a sign that at least the US won't be banning Bitcoin anytime soon, and hopefully they won't overregulate it either.

[jseverson]

Your presumption about Kraken to be more centralized is the truth but they don't have a choice

"Centralized" is being used incorrectly here. Kraken has always been 100% centralized, since it's a for-profit company that has a small group of people calling the shots. The same is true for basically every other crypto company out there.

The term you're looking for is probably "compliant", meaning they'll stick closer to guidelines laid out by regulators. That being said, I don't think there will be any noticeable changes on the consumers' end, since the large exchanges in the US are already compliant anyway.

[Hallmader]

Without any doubt , they need to go international , open some more branches out there in every country , the crypto holders and traders have been tormented by the situation where even though the cryptocurrencies are Legal in their country they still make it very difficult for the users to actually use their bank accounts for the same.

I do think we could before this news divide the banks into :
Crypto friendly banks
Banks that HATE cryptocurrencies

But now we have , Kraken , which undoubtedly will Change the whole situation , it's a bank from a crypto application!! Such a positive news

(I am aware this topic has been discussed but I do believe it does not matter much since I believe OP did not see that )

Banks that hate cryptocurrencies are now slowly turning into accepting crypto clients. It will be a matter of several years before almost all the banks would be opening up their doors to cryptocurrency. This is unstoppable as even countries are already giving cryptocurrencies their legal status.

And with the opening of this Kraken as a crypto bank, other banks that are still hating cryptocurrency should think twice and reconsider their stand. They should get threatened now. Crypto companies are now very capable of creating their own banks if they get rejected by the old banks.

[rdbase]

Well they are still trying..

Hey!
And a just released desktop tool for wall watchers, Kraken owned: https://cryptowat.ch/apps/desktop

Some moves are being made by other big crypto exchanges with ex-exec of gemini going to bitstamp.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/gemini-exec-to-join-bitstamp-crypto-exchange-as-new-ceo

So Kraken did need to do something to keep up with the joneses.