Turkish digital bank BankPozitif to offer crypto custody services for BTC, ETH, USDT

BankPozitif, a digital bank in Turkey, is venturing into the digital asset custody market as a part of a recent partnership with a Swiss crypto platform.

According to a March 5 announcement, the $7 billion digital bank has joined hands with Taurus to provide crypto custody services for institutional clients.

Founded in 2018, Taurus is a fintech company that offers digital asset infrastructure for banks and financial institutions.

It provides secure custody, tokenization, trading, and staking solutions for cryptocurrencies, tokenized assets, and digital securities.

What does the partnership offer?

Starting in June, BankPozitif will roll out its custody service, initially offering support for a handful of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, Tether USDt, XRP, and Solana. An exact launch date was not available at press time.

Commenting on the development, Dr Erkan Kork, Chairman of BankPozitif, reflected on the “unprecedented opportunities in fintech innovation” in Turkey, adding that the partnership will allow the bank to “ meet growing institutional demand for digital asset services.”

“The combination of high adoption rates, increasing institutional interest, and constructive regulatory frameworks creates good conditions for innovation in digital asset banking”, Lamine Brahimi, a Managing Partner at Taurus, added.

The latest offering will feature two key solutions from Taurus, Taurus-PROTECT and Taurus-EXPLORER.

Taurus-PROTECT will handle secure storage for cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets, giving BankPozitif flexibility with hot, warm, and cold storage options. 

Meanwhile, Taurus-EXPLORER will connect the bank to both public and private blockchains, making it easier to manage transactions and access blockchain data seamlessly.

BankPozitif chairman Erkan Kork had previously confirmed that the bank had secured a crypto custody license from the Capital Markets Board of Turkey (CMB), while its local subsidiary, PozitifKripto, has obtained a service provider license.

BankPozitif joins other Turkish banks exploring crypto services, including Garanti BBVA, Akbank, and Misyon Bank. 

Taurus, in the meantime, is working with at least three other Turkish banks, according to company officials.

Pro-crypto climate in Turkey

BankPozitif’s latest offering comes amid a slew of positive developments with Turkey. 

The country ended 2024 with fresh regulations for the sector by enforcing stricter Anti-Money Laundering measures and client identification policies for transactions that surpass 15,000 Turkish lira.

It has also delayed implementing a tax on crypto profits. With regulations in place, Turkey’s crypto landscape has been buzzing with activity since the start of the year.

On January 14, decentralised oracle network Chainlink partnered with local digital asset-as-a-service firm BTguru to integrate its interoperability protocol, data feeds and proof-of-reserve technology with the platform’s digital asset solutions.

The partnership aims to make it easier for traditional institutions to enter the tokenization market.

Later in the month, Misyon, a Turkish neobank, partnered with crypto exchange WhiteBit’s Turkish subsidiary. 

Under this collaboration, Misyon Bank’s subsidiary, MisyonTech, will utilize WhiteBIT TR’s liquidity to support trading of major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USDC, USDT, and Avalanche (AVAX).

The post Turkish digital bank BankPozitif to offer crypto custody services for BTC, ETH, USDT appeared first on Invezz