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In the middle of Argentina's crypto explosion, private banks are beginning to realize the value of providing bitcoin services to their customers. The country's central bank has approved Brubank, an all-digital financial institution, to offer bitcoin buying services on its app. When a consumer inquired about the additional possibilities on the platform, the bank advertised this new functionality on social media.

According to Brubank:

"Yes, we have cryptocurrency! It's a feature that's gradually becoming available to all of our users. You'll be able to see it once you've enabled it by going to the app's 'Investments' section."

Only four cryptocurrencies are available on Brubank's platform: BTC, ETH, and two stablecoins: USDC and DAI.

The Banking Crypto-Legality Frenzy's

Brubank is far from the first bank in Argentina to offer bitcoin services to its customers. Another private bank, Banco Galicia, said on May 2 that it was already selling bitcoin investments straight via its home banking app, after client demand for these products.

Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, are still unregulated in the country, and banks are unable to provide bitcoin investments on their own. To do so, banks are forming partnerships with third-party institutions operating outside of the country to provide white label services. Lirium, a European regulated platform, offers liquidity, executes trades, and provides custody services for the bank's customers in the instance of Banco Galicia. Brubank is yet to reveal whose platform will be offering these services to the bank.

Because of the nature of these arrangements, the monies held in these cryptocurrency wallets are not protected by local laws and are outside the purview of the protections that local institutions, such as the central bank or the National Values Commission, can provide for investment instruments.

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