Canberra: Despite major banks refusing to come into the practice of cryptocurrency, Australia might still see its first cryptocurrency bank in near future. One of the leading entrepreneurs of Australia is planning to make this a reality.
As per the news published on news.com, Fred Schebesta, founder of leading comparison website of Australia, Finder, believes that interest in cryptocurrencies is becoming stronger day by day. He feels that there is no point in dissuading from the digital currencies despite the volatility of the industry.
Schebesta says, “At its core, you’ve got to remember, just because the price of Bitcoin has gone down and people feel angry, that doesn’t reduce the interest.”
He further says, “You don’t have your money. The bank has your money. Have you ever gone to the bank and asked for all your money? If everyone did a bank run on CommBank [Commonwealth Bank of Australia] right now, they wouldn’t be able to service it. That’s why I’m so big on crypto. I think eventually people will go, ‘Oh my god, this is so messed up’, and they’ll move to where they can hold their value. Not all of their money, but some of it.”
Related: Dash Becomes Most Popular Cryptocurrency in Venezuela
Cryptocurrency is the future is what Schebesta believes. He says that we are living in the future and that’s what I’m all about. He calls himself a time traveller and says that I travel forward five years in the future, work it out then come back and try to active steps to make it happen.
His future plans seem to be establishing a cryptocurrency bank though he would require an authorized deposit-taking institution (ADI) license so as to offer a wide range of financial services to its client. This is a major reason behind Schebesta’s purchasing of personal shareholding in an existing bank, West Australia’s Goldfields Money. The Goldfields Money is a $35 million market cap with small business but they are the only bank with an ADI in Western Australia.
Explaining his move Schebesta said, “Comparison wasn’t very big because Australians weren’t really comparing, but I thought that was going to change, so I put a big investment and a big bet on comparison. I think with crypto, [people will want to] own their own currency and be able to hedge against fiat currency.”
With this move, the entrepreneur hopes that he will have his cryptocurrency bank ready for business within 18 months.
The cryptocurrency community in Australia must be ready to whip out the barbie in jubilation as the country seems to be making great strides in industry adoption. First the billion-dollar deal with IBM, and then Queensland actively working towards making the state the crypto friendliest yet.
Now, with the recent launch of index-style cryptocurrency fund, and a possible cryptocurrency bank on the horizon, the country could be trading kangaroos for crypto acceptance when it comes to what it’s most well-known for.
