Canadian Bank VersaBank To Provide Secure Vault For Digital Currencies

VersaBank won’t have the capacity to access or know what contents are in the vault. Taylor said having no real way to open the vault guarantees its privacy.

VersaBank is reacting to the need for digital security, a territory which is calling for attention given the current heist of more than $500 million from Coincheck Inc., a Japanese digital currency trade. Hackers gain access to digital currency trades through their Internet associated wallets.

Taylor said extensive funds have shown an enthusiasm for storing their assets in VersaVault since it was declared a month ago. The pricing for the service has not been resolved, but rather Taylor said the service will be costly.

A few U.S. banks have said they are ending digital currency purchases on credit cards, referring to security concerns.

VersaBank isn’t the first company to react to the need for digital asset security.

Xapo Inc. has offered secure bitcoin storage for around four years.

Goldmoney Inc., a Toronto-based firm that permits customers purchase, offer and store valuable metals in vaults in seven nations, started offering bitcoin storage in September.

Shinhan Bank in South Korea said in November that it expects to build a bitcoin vault by midyear.

Taylor presented a branchless bank in Canada in 1993, four years before ING Groep NV offered telephone banking as ING Direct.

VersaBank works on a branchless electronic model, gathering deposits from brokers and purchasing loans and lease receivables from non-bank financial firms. The bank additionally works with accomplices to give financing to retail and small businesses.

VersaBank has a market value of about $126 million, 80 workers and has surpassed Canada’s big banks. Its shares rose 24% this year contrasted with a 2.9% fall of the eight-company S&P/TSX Commercial Banks Index.

Last year VersaBank rose 19% compared to the banks index’s 11% gain.