Recently, cryptocurrencies and mainstream adoption have been all over the news and user threads, creating a major shift and change in the international banking world. More and more traditional banks are paying attention to crypto, especially Bitcoin and Ethereum, among others, and integrating trading and payment options for personal use and B2B commerce. 

According to Cuy Sheffield, the Head of Crypto at Visa, “As interest and demand for digital currencies from consumers and businesses grows, and governments explore the potential issuance of central bank digital currencies, many financial institutions are looking for ways to leverage the interest and provide new products and solutions for their customers”. 

Crypto-friendly banks provide a bridge between traditional transactions and payments to the ever-increasing world of cryptocurrencies. 

In this article, we will explore some of the best crypto-friendly banks in the world, including the USA, Latin America, Europe and Asia. We will further discuss the importance of these banks for personal and business use and discover why cold wallets are significant in safe crypto banking. 

Get ready to unravel the new and ever-changing world of the future of banking! 

Crypto-Friendly Banks in the USA 🗽🇺🇸 

Some of the largest and most powerful banks can be found in North America. The American market has recently taken off and has started to accept crypto after a long battle with regulations. Although there still are some changes to be made, some of America’s leading banks are paving the way for personal use and business crypto banks. 

Here are our top crypto-friendly banks in the USA:

J.P. Morgan’s CHASE

This might be a controversial pick, as CHASE decided to stop using crypto transactions in the UK in September of 2023. However, in the USA they are one of the leading crypto-friendly banks, accepting payments and providing exchanges of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Shiba Inu, XRP, Dogecoin, Binance Coin, Tether, and USD Coin. Their collaboration with Canadian-created payment processor, FCF, has allowed CHASE to accept crypto, otherwise completing banking transactions with fiat payments.

A bit of a contradiction, we know…but it seems to be the middle ground for being crypto-friendly in 2024. 

The fees applicable to a CHASE account can vary, depending on the transaction and currency from which you are converting your crypto. It totally depends on the exchange that you are buying your crypto from. These charges can range from 0.1% to 2%. 

The benefit of J.P. Morgan’s CHASE Bank is that you are dealing with a trusted and widely recognized bank. You can rely on their compliance and banking services for digital banking, albeit a hot wallet. 

Ally-Bank

Known as a well-rounded online American bank, it is similar to its crypto-friendly transactions as CHASE. At heart, it is a “traditional” online bank but it has created a variety of digital tools that make it possible for customers to pay and trade using crypto. 

Essentially, you will have to connect your account to other crypto exchanges but you can manage your cryptocurrencies with your Ally account. 

Standard trading rates apply as per the exchange that you use to buy and sell your crypto from, otherwise, there are $0 monthly fees for having an Ally-Bank account. 

Quontic Bank

A New York City based bank makes our list of American crypto-friendly banks; Quontic Bank embraced Bitcoin early on, allowing transactions since 2019, even giving customers a “Bitcoin cash-back” reward of 1.5% for every transaction made.

Collaborating with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP blockchains, Quontic Bank is not only a leading US Bank collaborating with cryptocurrencies, but its CIO, Patrick Sells, is a firm believer in the future of B2B commerce with the digital assets, stating “…It offers many benefits, such as the ability to easily send money, removing the cost of cash, sending money overseas, [and is] a universal payments solution”.

Quontic is one of the banks on our list which does have a minimum of $100 opening fee for a bank account and also requires a minimum of 10 qualifying debit-card transactions of $10 or more on each monthly statement, otherwise resulting in an APY fee. 

Crypto-Friendly Banks in Latin America (LATAM) 🌎 🌞

Even though Central and South America has a smaller crypto market compared to some other places, countries like Brazil, Argentina and Mexico are embracing digital currency as a vital asset. Unfortunately, as many countries in South America are going through an economic crisis, it has reinforced the concept of the value of a dollar, meaning that it is more common now than ever before that many Latin Americans, such as Argentinians and Venezuelans for example, compare their countries currency to the more stable USD. Many of them immediately deposit their paychecks in order to buy USDT or USDC. 

Let’s explore the variety of crypto-friendly banks in LATAM:

Xapo Bank

Wences Casares, founder of Xapo Bank, originally from Argentina, knows all too well about the struggles of economic issues for his country and its people. This is what fueled him to create a bank that he expresses as “The bank for Bitcoiners, by Bitcoiners”.

With Xapo Bank, you can trade, buy and sell Bitcoin and send and receive USDC and USDT, making it a great option for personal and business use. 

Currently located in Gibraltar, it is available for everyone around the world to open an account except for US Citizens! 

You can take advantage of a 30-day trial of its bank account and services and then afterwards, pay an annual fee of $150 or a monthly fee of $14.99.

Bantotal and Bitex

Bantotal is a Uruguayan bank that can be found throughout 14 countries within Latin America. They have recently integrated Bitex into their banking services which now provides users the opportunity to make payments using the Bitcoin blockchain. 

Bitex Chief Marketing Officer, Manuel Beaudroit, explains that “with this technology, banks can have access to an API and have control of the whole process of [cross-border] payment with visibility and reliability on the Bitcoin blockchain”.

Calling it peer-to-peer banking, Bitex allows the conversion of USD into Bitcoin, giving many users the security and relief of knowing that their funds are secure and guarded from their government’s reach.

Fees and service charges vary depending on account type and transactions made. 

Tower-Bank

Originating in Panama City, Tower-Bank began accepting transactions with USDT and soon after moved into BTC and ETH. They offer their clients to buy these cryptocurrencies with USD or vice versa, again providing the much-regarded service of users wanting their money converted into US dollars equivalent crypto for safeguarding due to the instability of their country’s fiat currency.

Priding themselves as being crypto-friendly, you can buy, sell, trade, send and complete bank transactions using your crypto. They even offer courses and educational services for those wanting to learn more about the crypto market.

To open an account, you need a valid passport and a deposit of $50. 

Crypto-Friendly Banks in Europe 🌍 🇪🇺

Within the European Market, many leading banks have prided themselves on being crypto-friendly in 2024. As many regulations are evolving and changing within the European Union, and taking Brexit into account, here are our picks for the best European crypto-friendly banks:

Bankera

Bankera is a Lithuanian banking system that allows users to blend traditional banking and cryptocurrencies. They have integrated their banking tool, SpectroCoin, which is a built-in wallet that allows you to exchange crypto.

With Bankera, personal users can make fiat deposits and withdrawals from cryptocurrency trading and exchange platforms, while also giving businesses a corporate IBAN for payment solutions.

It is a reliable tool, but important to keep in mind, that it is not a crypto-wallet as Bankera is a fiat banking system, but like many others on our list, have tools to support cryptocurrencies, making it crypto-user-friendly. 

Revolut

Founded in 2015 in the UK, Revolut has become a widely popular banking option both within Europe and globally.

It provides built-in features within its app for purchasing Bitcoin and allows businesses and its customers to pay with crypto, putting it on our list as one of the best and most user-friendly DeFi wallets. 

As this is a globally used banking system, fees vary on your location. Please visit their website for further details. 

SEBA

Founded in 2019, SEBA is a Swiss bank known as one of the most crypto-friendly banks worldwide. It supports Swiss blockchain companies and other crypto banks, also providing services in trading, crypto loans and liquidity management.

It provides a platform for you to transfer fiat money into crypto in a safe and secure banking system –  although still considered a hot wallet – offering a wide range of different types of accounts and services that provide trading, buying, and selling of different fiat and cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Polkadot and Tezos, insurance, NFTs and much more. 

They also offer services for businesses looking to integrate crypto payments. 

Crypto-Friendly Banks in Asia 🌏 🏯

Asia has led the way for acceptance of the crypto market and crypto-friendly banking, spanning from the Far East to the Middle East. It is a unique dynamic, however, because government control and involvement within the Asian banking system is stronger than we see in some others. This begs the question, how safe and secure really are your digital assets here?

 Let’s explore a few of Asia’s friendliest crypto banks: 

DBS

Knows as one of Asia’s safest banks for traditional banking, it is also Southeast Asia’s largest bank. Its headquarters are located in Singapour, and made some big news this past summer when it announced that it would be “introducing new solutions for its customers in mainland China related to the digital yuan, also known as e-CNY”. This created a big stir and gave so many businesses a new opportunity to buy and sell products across China and Asia. 

Using their DigiBank app, you can buy, sell, and trade crypto at the push of a button. Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ripple, Polkadot and Cardano are the current cryptocurrencies supported by DBS Bank. 

Mizuho Bank 

Based in Tokyo, Mizuho Bank is ranked as a safe and secure bank in Asia. It is a trading platform for institutional investors, lending products, asset management services, and expertise in tokenization.

Navigating the Japanese banking giant can be a little confusing for those who are not all that familiar with crypto assets. A few years back, they released their version of an online “currency” called J-Coin. However, J-Coin does not function on a blockchain, instead, it was an effort made by the Japanese government to push the country’s digital economy.

In early 2024, Mizuho Bank is set to introduce stablecoin onto the market, anchoring the cryptocurrency to a stable fiat currency, like the Yen or Dollar. 

SBI Sumishin Net Bank

Another top-tier Asian bank located in Tokyo, similar to its counterparts, offers secure and regulated custody for digital investments. It is regulated by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and is a member of the Federation of Bankers Associations of Japan (FBAJ).

SBI Sumishin Net Bank supports USDT, USDC and BUSD. It is important to note that it is not a self-custodial bank but rather relies on third-party custody. 

Business Bank Accounts and Cryptocurrency

Integrating crypto into business banking has become more than just a “forward way of thinking” for business owners and customers. Crypto-friendly business bank accounts have been more and more in demand in recent years for companies and clients looking for a blend of traditional banking with crypto trading.

As you can see from the different banks we have mentioned above, there are a variety of crypto-friendly banks, offering different services and ways of managing your money and making crypto transactions. 

This type of financial evolution is only gaining momentum with crypto becoming a more standard type of currency internationally. This leads to some big questions like, is my crypto secure? And who is in the custody of my assets? 

Again, as mentioned before, some of these crypto-friendly banks are custodial, tied to the government and follow traditional banking structures. For these reasons, a cold wallet, like that of Material Bitcoin and others, is a good choice to use for protecting yourself and your investments.

Remember, once something is connected to the internet system, such as many of these banks mentioned above, they become more susceptible to hackers. Although they are all reliable and reputable banks, the realm of digital currencies is something ever-changing and using a hardware cold wallet can be a solution for managing and protecting your digital finances.  

‍The Union Between Crypto-Friendly Banks and Cold Wallets

Offline non-custodial cold wallets are hands down the safest way to store your crypto. Especially if you are using a hardware cold wallet that isn’t a USB but rather a physical plate or other material on which you engrave your private keys, cannot be matched.

Using these types of wallets to store your crypto guarantees that you, as the owner, control your investments, which in theory was the original idea behind cryptocurrency. When integrated banking services and crypto-friendly banks come into play they can create an unsafe and uncertain reality for your digital assets. 

Although crypto-friendly banks offer services for so many people and countries that without them would not be able to thrive, we do recommend pairing your account with a cold wallet for added safeguarding.

This combination gives users the ability to manage investments with both flexibility and security, giving businesses and customers worldwide the means of accessing, using and securely storing their crypto. 

Safe Banking

With everything we have mentioned above, it is safe to say that the world of cryptocurrencies hasn’t been this exciting and ever-changing since 2017. With countries evaluating its benefits and moving away from traditional, custodial banking to help integrate digital currencies; we can’t help but look forward to the future of 2024. 

Our advice: when picking the perfect wallet for you, take into account the types of crypto you want to invest in, and trade with and know your options for keeping all of your crypto well-guarded and protected. Check out the options that Material Bitcoin offers for your digital safety.