We, bitcoiners, should buy a bank

[countryfree]

I still see many people being puzzled by BTC, saying it's a bubble, that it's going to crash, etc...
Taking advantage of the huge price rise, I think some early believers should team and buy an existing bank. Not Barclays, nor JP Morgan of course, but there are small banks out there. Imagine a bank owned by bitcoiners, for bitcoiners. It would become an exchange, and it would be the best exchange in the world with the full ability to make Swift and SEPA transfers without the need to use the service of a third party.

[jackg]

The idea is good if small banks exist fully independent... But they take loans from the larger banks which I feel might be problematic.

I don't know what thisd solve. If I did, I'd help to create one but I imagine the fees for such thing would be really high too and we already have binance and a few other sites who seem to be trying to do this (6% on eur and usd, 1% on btc etc)...

[figmentofmyass]

Taking advantage of the huge price rise, I think some early believers should team and buy an existing bank. Not Barclays, nor JP Morgan of course, but there are small banks out there. Imagine a bank owned by bitcoiners, for bitcoiners. It would become an exchange, and it would be the best exchange in the world with the full ability to make Swift and SEPA transfers without the need to use the service of a third party.

that was the entire idea behind crypto capital---a crypto-friendly financial institution that worked seamlessly with exchanges. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/crypto-capital

unfortunately the rest of the banking world (probably under pressure from regulators) started treating them like a pariah, and they had a harder and harder time moving money to service their customers. that forced them into risky banking relationships where they were rubbing elbows with drug cartels, which eventually resulted in massive bank account seizures and police charges.

in fact, those bank seizures are literally why tether is not 1:1 backed anymore---that goes to how serious this is.

if "crypto-friendly bank" is code for "not compliant with banking/AML laws" then it's not a sustainable solution. regulators and police agencies will just take them down, which will cause lots of collateral damage for partner exchanges.

and if they are fully compliant, then what is it a solution for?

[The Sceptical Chymist]

It would become an exchange, and it would be the best exchange in the world with the full ability to make Swift and SEPA transfers without the need to use the service of a third party.

That sounds all well and good, but the reality is that it probably wouldn't turn out to be like that--for a lot of different reasons.  In fact at times like these when bitcoin is red hot, I'd be wary of somebody trying to create (or buy) a bitcoin bank.  Bull markets like this one bring the scammers out of the woodwork like termites, and it's only after the crash that a lot of the shenanigans are discovered.  That's always been true in the stock market, and it's true in the world of crypto as well.

Do you recall Trendon Shavers and his attempt to form a bitcoin bank?  Not sure if he's out of prison yet, but that's the first thing I think of when I hear suggestions like yours, OP.  Crypto tends to attract a disproportionate number of scammers/dishonest people--that's unfortunate, but it's the reality.

And then how would what you describe above be much different than Coinbase?  The way you describe it, it would be just another exchange in a space that's saturated with exchanges.  Unless this "bitcoin bank" offered something 1) unique, and 2) something that bitcoiners really want, I don't think it's a great idea.

[romero121]

When a bank is being created or an existing bank is being bought for the purpose of entire operations in bitcoin, there is more chance of reaching down level of people who doesn't have much idea about banking and always prefer third party services for the banking/transaction needs. Same time running a bank isn't an easy thing to be done.

We users will get services same as that we get through the exchanges, but even the people without system knowledge can benefit. Here the fee will be high and there won't be any difference of a bank operated by traditional fiat and bitcoin.

[figmentofmyass]

Do you recall Trendon Shavers and his attempt to form a bitcoin bank?  Not sure if he's out of prison yet, but that's the first thing I think of when I hear suggestions like yours, OP.

he called it a "savings & loan" to give it an air of legitimacy, but it was just a ponzi scheme.

i'm still partial to the crypto capital comparison. if you dig into its origin, it all comes back to this reddit post: https://web.archive.org/web/20130515000701/http://www.reddit.com:80/r/Bitcoin/comments/1dmjyg/bitcoin_from_a_banker_prospective_a_serious/

......which reads just like the OP. basically:

-OP's Solution: An international bitcoin bank in panama where fraudulent activity within a specific account could be dealt with individually instead of screwing everyone (i.e. bitfloor, bitcoin-24)

-A personal bank account, with online access would be opened in your name, a debit/visa/mc would be issued and you and only you would have control and access to this account

-Internal bank exchange from BTC to your currency would be performed instantly with other bank account holders though an escrow instant account to provide anonymity.

-The Bank will act as any other bank as far as Fiat is concerned but will also provide you with the option to convert your Currency into BTC at any time from multiple open exchanges that will open accounts with the bank.

i love the idea but in practice, it didn't work out so well: President of Crypto Capital arrested in alleged money laundering operation

i'd rather hodl my coins than risk them investing in something like that!

[bryant.coleman]

I still see many people being puzzled by BTC, saying it's a bubble, that it's going to crash, etc...
Taking advantage of the huge price rise, I think some early believers should team and buy an existing bank. Not Barclays, nor JP Morgan of course, but there are small banks out there. Imagine a bank owned by bitcoiners, for bitcoiners. It would become an exchange, and it would be the best exchange in the world with the full ability to make Swift and SEPA transfers without the need to use the service of a third party.

It will be of hardly any use. Banks operate under existing rules and regulations. In a lot of countries, there are restrictions on using your bank accounts for purchasing or selling cryptocurrency. If the government is hostile to cryptocurrencies, then there is a good chance that the banking license will be revoked. My opinion is that we will be better without any banks. We don't need them.

[so98nn]

I still see many people being puzzled by BTC, saying it's a bubble, that it's going to crash, etc...
Taking advantage of the huge price rise, I think some early believers should team and buy an existing bank. Not Barclays, nor JP Morgan of course, but there are small banks out there. Imagine a bank owned by bitcoiners, for bitcoiners. It would become an exchange, and it would be the best exchange in the world with the full ability to make Swift and SEPA transfers without the need to use the service of a third party.

That won't happen because buying a bank doesn't mean you just have to buy a building with money counter. If you buy, you will be imposed with all the hard bitch rules and regulations in the first place. Your bank will be regulated by existing rules. You can't just dedicate that bank to bitcoiners really.

The logic is not in place here. You will have to form completely new organization with set of rules which allows such swift bitcoin exchange to and fro crypto space / fiat space.

[Argoo]

I still see many people being puzzled by BTC, saying it's a bubble, that it's going to crash, etc...
Taking advantage of the huge price rise, I think some early believers should team and buy an existing bank. Not Barclays, nor JP Morgan of course, but there are small banks out there. Imagine a bank owned by bitcoiners, for bitcoiners. It would become an exchange, and it would be the best exchange in the world with the full ability to make Swift and SEPA transfers without the need to use the service of a third party.

That won't happen because buying a bank doesn't mean you just have to buy a building with money counter. If you buy, you will be imposed with all the hard bitch rules and regulations in the first place. Your bank will be regulated by existing rules. You can't just dedicate that bank to bitcoiners really.

The logic is not in place here. You will have to form completely new organization with set of rules which allows such swift bitcoin exchange to and fro crypto space / fiat space.

It's right. The bank will be located in a specific state and will have to obey its laws and the instructions of the central bank of that country. There can be no independent banks. The bank is either located in the existing banking system, or it simply will not be given the opportunity to work normally. Various checks and penalties for failure to comply with existing regulations will lead to bankruptcy.

[stompix]

Do you recall Trendon Shavers and his attempt to form a bitcoin bank? 

So I'm not the only one that instantly thought of guys like him.
Ok, WE buy a bank but WHO do we put in charge? 
Of course, it will be someone who we could trust, but the problem is that a lot of people were looking like being trustworthy, and how many of them have changed down the road? What if their views are not going to coincide with yours, what if the way the bank acts and the rates it charges and its costs are not on everyone that invested likings?

It would become an exchange, and it would be the best exchange in the world with the full ability to make Swift and SEPA transfers without the need to use the service of a third party.

Why would you use SEPA transfers when you have your own bank? Actually, why even exchange stuff, with a bank like that you could automatically spend coins on every purchase, it's pretty simple to implement, just the way you pay in yens with a card in euros on a trip in Japan.
But those are just small hurdles compared to the whole mess of actually being granted an operating license and follow all the laws and procedures and even once this succeeds there will still be people who will ask a genuine question, why the hell should I use a bank? Nothing is more bitcoin-friendly than my wallet.

Sorry OP but this is one of those projects that look good on paper the first time, let's buy a bank, let's buy an island, let's start a country..

[exstasie]

Here's a better idea: let's be our own banks.

Seriously, Bitcoin is about to be regulated to hell. The red tape and barriers to entry in the Bitcoin exchange industry are already bad enough but they're about to get a whole lot worse:

Congratulations, the US got you cryptocurrency regulation for Christmas

Why FinCEN Wants Details on All Cross-Border Transactions Over $250

The EU is looking at passing new regulations next year as well. It just seems like a terrible time to get involved in crypto-facing banking and money transmission. The overheads are massive and the risks don't seem worth it.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

It will be of hardly any use. Banks operate under existing rules and regulations. In a lot of countries, there are restrictions on using your bank accounts for purchasing or selling cryptocurrency. If the government is hostile to cryptocurrencies, then there is a good chance that the banking license will be revoked. My opinion is that we will be better without any banks. We don't need them.

Exactly, any centralized initiative is highly frowned out by me. The idea behind the crypto currency is decentralization and anything that bring in centralization is a enemy to the system. When power are been giving to a selected few like the banks we become an easy target to the government with their regulations. The suggestion by the Ol is simply giving power to just some few bitcoiners to make the decision for the community.

A more favorable suggestions would had been the coming together of great mind to build a decentralized banking system that'll work without the fear of getting attacked by the government with their regulations. We already have enough of centralized banks yet none are worth pa

[crypticj]

You cant do anything that you want if we will buy the bank. There are strong regulation about transaction and to be a CEO of bank dont give you super power

[GeorgeJohn]

I still see many people being puzzled by BTC, saying it's a bubble, that it's going to crash, etc...
Taking advantage of the huge price rise, I think some early believers should team and buy an existing bank.

Not today we started getting such information that BTC will crash, it's obvious that the new is fallacy, bitcoin increasing in price does not permit or required that existence of bitcoin is at stake, I think all these is a process to scared people away for investing in cryptocurrency in general, flash back in 2017 bitcoin price when get to 20k while won't it crash then, so I think the information is propaganda in bitcoin in order to bring it down.

[PerfectCircle]

1. How will the bank function without taking loans? That's from other existing bank, is that going to work?

2. Be prepared for rules and regulations from the law, yes no bank dares exists without this, the problem will just become big than you'd imagine

3. Freedom, decentralization, etc will be killed fast, laws, SEC etc will be on your asses

Let those calling bitcoin a bubble should continue, I don't know what type of bubble will exists this long, what type of bubble will keep coming back to life after crashes and dump or even in bad economy situations? Many are just too blind to see

[davis196]

I still see many people being puzzled by BTC, saying it's a bubble, that it's going to crash, etc...
Taking advantage of the huge price rise, I think some early believers should team and buy an existing bank. Not Barclays, nor JP Morgan of course, but there are small banks out there. Imagine a bank owned by bitcoiners, for bitcoiners. It would become an exchange, and it would be the best exchange in the world with the full ability to make Swift and SEPA transfers without the need to use the service of a third party.

This doesn't seem like a solution to me.
Buying a bank doesn't mean that the bank will be allowed to trade cryptocurrencies for SEPA or Swift transfers.
Every bank,no matter how big or small it is,needs permission by the authorities to do business.
I'm not a expect,but AFAIK,payment systems like Swift and SEPA are third party services and no bank can't avoid using them.
By the way,Bitcoin is really in a price bubbles,but there's nothing wrong with that.Almost all financial assets can form price bubbles.Buying a small bank to turning it into a crypto exchange won't make the Bitcoin price more stable.

[kolesozw]

I still see many people being puzzled by BTC, saying it's a bubble, that it's going to crash, etc...
Taking advantage of the huge price rise, I think some early believers should team and buy an existing bank. Not Barclays, nor JP Morgan of course, but there are small banks out there. Imagine a bank owned by bitcoiners, for bitcoiners. It would become an exchange, and it would be the best exchange in the world with the full ability to make Swift and SEPA transfers without the need to use the service of a third party.

It's pointless for a few reasons:

- At the moment you've to touch Fiat, there are licences, regulations and KYC.
- With banks, it's about the name, about the trust.

You could try to organize it and try it relatively cheaply with an Estonian online banking licence. Btw most of the crypto exchanges and "cyber-banks" already have it.

[Wind_FURY]

New Bitcoin slogan, "Bitcoin, be your own bank, literally". Hahaha.

OP, or instead, invest all that money in decentralized exchange research and development, then build it. Plus why use SWIFT/SEPA? We already have Bitcoin.

[StyleForceOne]

I still see many people being puzzled by BTC, saying it's a bubble, that it's going to crash, etc...
Taking advantage of the huge price rise, I think some early believers should team and buy an existing bank. Not Barclays, nor JP Morgan of course, but there are small banks out there. Imagine a bank owned by bitcoiners, for bitcoiners. It would become an exchange, and it would be the best exchange in the world with the full ability to make Swift and SEPA transfers without the need to use the service of a third party.

You live in the dreamers world.
Not implying that your idea is impracticable, but rather pointless.
By that I mean it won't change much, but will allegedly change someone's view on bitcoin and its community.
Thats not what we should aim for, but for practical economical change with new functional technologies.

[nemey]

Everything in crypto is self-contained. All matters relating to the assets that we have, we will be able to manage them. even transfer fees or other administrative costs, we also determine whether to choose or use or not. Everything is carried out independently via mobile so that it is easier to make transactions anywhere at any time. This is the unique thing about playing and investing in crypto, we are like a running bank.