Cryptocurrency bank Ziglu added functions for buying and sending cryptoassets
Alternative bank Ziglu has added the ability to buy and sell cryptoassets in its app. Cryptocurrencies can be sent to other bank customers, but not to third-party wallets.
The limitation was commented on by Ziglu Product Director Nick Turner-Samuels. He said that connecting the option of sending cryptocurrencies to external wallets is not an easy task for the bank. Ziglu was only launched on June 15 and wants to “prove that it can quickly find a product suitable for the market, test the application, and integrate cryptocurrencies as quickly as possible.”
Alternative banks – small retail banks in the UK such as Revolut, Ziglu, Starling and Monzo – want to take the place of traditional banks. They offer lower currency conversion fees, easy-to-use apps, robot advisors, and more. Ziglu and Revolut have a special money transfer service license issued by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which allows them to process cryptocurrency transactions alongside normal banking activities. These are the only alternative banks that have such a license. Ziglu was licensed recently and Revolut in May 2016.
“Now that we have an FCA license, we are launching additional features such as P2P payments. And we’re going to release cards pretty soon. We are starting to create a complete package of services for clients, ”said Turner-Samuels.
There is another reason why Ziglu is in no hurry to add sending cryptocurrencies to external wallets – unwillingness to come into conflict with regulators. According to Turner-Samuels, there are dark sides to the cryptocurrency world, full of scammers, hackers and money launderers.
“We want to make sure we are really in control when it comes to keeping track of money so that everything is fair,” said Ziglu’s chief product officer. He added that the bank is working with technology companies to combat money laundering, but did not disclose their names.
Ziglu is mainly aimed at newcomers to the cryptocurrency industry, and the lack of the ability to send cryptoassets to third-party wallets is a kind of insurance against user error.
“It’s very easy to enter the wrong wallet address if you’re not careful,” Turner-Samuels said. “It is very difficult for ordinary clients to know where their money went if they made a mistake.”
Recall that according to a study by another cryptocurrency bank Revolut, British citizens began to buy more BTC during the coronavirus pandemic and the quarantine imposed in connection with it. The largest deals were made by investors aged 55-64.
