Major digital asset exchange platform Binance has announced it has integrated with a commercial bank for the first time ever. Akbank, a major Turkish bank, will now allow seamless transactions for customers of the crypto exchange, using the Turkish Lira (TRY).
Describing it as “the first bank channel integration”, Binance says that customers will now be able to make TRY withdrawals and deposits easily, through their AKBank accounts. Customers can now do this using the Binance desktop platform or the iOS App.
In a recent tweet, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao says that AKBank is Turkey’s biggest bank. A 2018 Brand Finance – Banking 500 report described the bank as “The Most Valuable Banking Brand in Turkey”, making it the seventh consecutive time. This makes the new development very laudable for both Binance and cryptocurrency in general.
As efforts for the continued adoption of crypto continues, a major bank throwing its weight behind Binance will do fantastic for adoption in Turkey. Allowing people to transact with the Turkish Lira in a “fast and secure manner”, Binance is giving Turkish residents more reason to get into crypto through their trust for a major traditional institution like AKBank.
Speaking on the new collaboration, Zhao says it is aimed at making it a lot easier for players to enter the crypto space:
“As part of our mission to continue working on increasing the freedom of money worldwide and notably in a country that is fast-adopting digital assets, we are expanding the available options to lower the barrier to entry. As the industry scales with our products and services that grow in tandem, the availability and process of investing, exchanging and trading crypto will become more and more seamless.”
The Turkish Lira has been underperforming in recent times, with suggestions that the coronavirus outbreak has a lot to do with it. While this is disappointing news for the country, it could work in favor of crypto if the situation sustains for a while.
