Now that the GENIUS Act has been signed into law, financial institutions — including credit unions — are preparing to integrate cryptocurrency offerings into their platforms.
Ocala Community Credit Union partnered with digital investment platform
The credit union's board of directors selected InvestiFi as a partner due to the provider's track record in digital asset partnerships with other credit unions, according to a company statement.
"We are thrilled to have joined forces with InvestiFi to offer our members crypto investment directly from checking," said Steven Nazaruk, CEO of Ocala Community Credit Union. "With InvestiFi we aim to guarantee a safe and secure crypto investing environment for our members. We are looking forward to rolling InvestiFi's crypto solution out to our members as an investment tool for them and a way for OCCU to attract new members."
"Cryptocurrency investment continues to grow across the U.S., and it is more important than ever for financial institutions to guide their members in their crypto investment journey," said Kian Sarreshteh, CEO and co-founder of InvestiFi. "Our crypto trading solution enables members to invest in crypto directly from their checking account safely and securely."
InvestiFi will be focusing on reducing the outflow of assets from OCCU to external crypto apps like
American Banker's Frictionless Fraud report finds not all institutions are well assured their customer verification tools can keep up with new schemes.
"Too many people are swayed by third-party apps without access to credible financial education, making impulse crypto investments," Sarreshteh said. "Our solution provides the resources to help members make informed decisions as they build their portfolio."
Experts say that regulatory openness to cryptocurrency, marked by the successful passing of a
"Until now, most traditional banks were held back by regulatory ambiguity or even reputational risk," Javelin Strategy digital assets and crypto analyst Joel Hugentobler told American Banker. "The GENIUS Act removes the fog and signals to the market that Washington has provided a rules-based approach. This is the first clear federal framework for digital assets that the industry has been waiting for and signals that regulated institutions are permitted to custody digital assets and engage further within the industry. The technology is here to stay, and those that wait to provide services or solutions leveraging the tech will lose market share."
John Pachkowski, a senior legal analyst at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory, told American Banker that he anticipates a "flurry of activity" from banks announcing partnerships with digital asset companies in order to bring crypto services to their customers after
"Banks, already operating under heightened regulatory requirements, bring expertise to areas that digital asset companies may not possess such as providing custodial services," Pachkowski said. "On the other hand, digital asset companies bring the technical know-how in the blockchain markets regarding stablecoin payments."
