The Most Crypto-Friendly Banks in 2024

The recent "boom" of cryptocurrency trading expanded the audience for blockchain technology beyond the usual "early adopters" and "innovators", all the way towards mainstream audience. The impact of this new group of investors on the crypto market is hard to overestimate. Naturally, it was only a matter of time (and a ton of regulatory restrictions) before retail banks embraced the idea of allowing their customers to invest funds into certain coins and crypto-funds similar to what ETFs are to stocks. Of course, the brave pioneers in this field were not your traditional "brick and mortar" banks, but rather their agile digital-native counterparts. What are some of the best banks to pick if you want to get in on Bitcoin, Ethereum or even Dogecoin craze? In this article, our experts elaborate on their picks.

We also advise you to to explore our collection of reviews of various crypto exchanges, including Kraken, eToro and many more. New to crypto? Make sure to read our "Beginner's Guide to Cryptocurrencies & Blockchain" where our experts concisely explain complex concepts in simple terms.

How does banking with crypto work?

There are multiple "levels" of crypto acceptance all banks can be divided into. We assume that a borderline level is your traditional bank: gets suspicious when you transfer money in and out of exchanges or other Web3-related platforms. You might get these transactions blocked, they might request you submit additional paperwork pertaining to your exchange and, in some cases, tax authorities might also be involved. We will assume that to be the baseline, and every step above that can be safely considered an upgrade. The key factors as follows:

1. Built-in Integration:Obviously, the best way to go is to have an ability to trade cryptocurrencies directly within your bank app. It is a fairly rare option, and even if you are a lucky user of one of the neobanks that provide it, you can still find yourself disappointed as the coin selection in these products is usually pretty mediocre, while the fees tend to be very high.
2. Cashing in and out of exchanges without any hassle:For instance, Wise recently stated that "you can send money to your balances with bank details from a platform that deals with Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency — as long as the platform is regulated and/or supervised in the EU or UK". Revolut, on the other hand, only recently reversed their position on transactions with exchanges and now claims to accept up to €50k per day in withdrawals from exchanges.
3. Powerful OpenAPISimple and powerful API means easier integrations, which means that not only can you automate your trading using your bank's and the platform of choice's APIs, but you can also expect "out-of-the-box" integrations to work better as well. Of course, PSD2 helps quite a lot with third party integrations.

The other important aspect to consider is your local authorities' stance on cryptocurrenciess and applicable laws. You can find out if you need to declare funds on exchanges or in wallets, by searching this information online. Knowing the regulatory framework will definitely come in handy, and you absolutely need to be aware of it if you plan on dealing with cryptocurrencies!