Bancolombia and Gemini partners to offer crypto services in Colombia
Ancolombia (the largest bank in the country) and Gemini (a US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange that makes it simple and secure to buy cryptocurrencies) have announced a partnership that is scheduled to start next week.
The partnership will offer crypto services in Colombia as part of the country’s regulatory sandbox. It will help in the development of the local Crypto industry.
Colombians will have a new option of buying their favorite cryptocurrencies with their bank account like any other product.
Gemini announced that it had finalized the necessary steps to move the implementation phase of the project where Colombians will be able to buy the cryptocurrencies with the funds in their Bancolombian accounts.
Crypto Services in Colombia
The Bancolombia and Gemini move will offer a great opportunity for Colombians to enter into the Crypto world, however, the service will be restricted to a limited number of users who will qualify for the service.
The project will last for one year starting on December 14, 2021. During this period, all eligible users will be able to buy Ether (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC) using their Bancolombian accounts from Gemini.
This means that Gemini will handle all the processes that will be involving cryptocurrencies while Bancolombia will deal with the movement of any amount of Colombian pesos (country’s official currency).
Currently, the country is executing the project within the regulatory sandbox to stimulate innovation in financial services. Government regulators grant certain advantages to startups that want to test the viability of their proposals; however, they are unable to implement them due to heavy bureaucratic procedures and possible legal hurdles. This is also a possible reason as to why it’s heavily restricted and slowed down.
Cynthia Del Pozo, Gemini’s Principal, Strategy and Corporate Development shared her excitement in an official blog post saying:
‘’Crypto is borderless by nature, and we are committed to expanding crypto access to individuals across the globe. We believe that crypto can play an important role in the development of Latin America as interest in blockchain and innovative technologies proliferates throughout the region.
As we continue on our mission to build the future of finance, we invite institutions from across Latin America exploring opportunities in crypto to reach out to us here.’’
Colombia Regulatory Sandbox
The Colombia regulatory sandbox is being promoted by the country’s Financial Superintendency in collaboration with other regulatory bodies.
They have 9 projects approved for implementation however only 2 are in operation, that is, Bitpoint exchange and payment start-up MOVii and Gemini with Bancolombia. Other projects involve players such as Buda.com, Binance, and the Latin exchange Bitso.
Brazil and Spain have also designed policies like those of Colombian. Currently, Brazil’s regulatory sandbox is focused on promoting fast and efficient payment systems while Spain is working on strengthening its security and compliance mechanisms as well as stepping up its Crypto game.
Spain Central Bank’s priority is to design and implement the CBDC on its latest development plan for the year 2020-2024 which is a bit slower since its Counterpart Brazil is planning to launch its own CBDC next year.
