Milan-headquartered UniCredit banking group, which boasts total assets of €811.1 billion, has denied banning its customers from trading cryptocurrencies, according to reports. statement released on Wednesday.
The banking giant said there had been a “misunderstanding”.
It also confirmed that it does not invest in cryptocurrencies on behalf of its clients or with its own funds, in line with its current policy.
Italian crypto Twitter spoke out against UniCredit last week after it clarified that it had banned customers from dealing with crypto issuers and exchanges in response to a customer claiming that the bank The customer threatened to close his account in order to transfer funds to cryptocurrency trading platforms.
Many crypto enthusiasts claim that the bank will not be left in the dust when it comes to opposing new technologies, echoing the fates of established players like Nokia, Kodak, and Blockbuster. Twitterati believes that UniCredit intentionally lost customers, threatening to close accounts.
Disgruntled customers now say the bank is trying to save face by cracking its crypto ban.
An unsupervised industry
In June, Consob, Italy’s top financial regulator, raised concerns about the uncontrolled growth of the crypto sector in the country. President Paolo Savona said that Italy could come up with its own regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies if there is no concerted effort within the European Union:
If it takes too long at the European level to come up with a solution, (Italy) will have to take its own measures.
Although cryptocurrencies have matured significantly in recent years, many traditional banking institutions are still hesitant to accept it. Last June, British bank TSB banned its customers from trading cryptocurrencies due to fraud concerns.
However, Banca Generali, Italy’s leading private bank, recently allowed its customers to buy and hold Bitcoin.
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