Xapo Bank Becomes The First Fully Licensed Bank To Enable USDC Deposits and Withdrawals
Xapo Banks marks a watershed moment for digital asset innovation by enabling members to bypass costly and time-consuming SWIFT payments and deposit and withdraw via USDC instead.
BANGKOK, THAILAND -
Media OutReach - 28 March 2023 -
Xapo Bank, a leading Bitcoin custodian and licensed private bank, has collaborated with
Circle, a
global financial technology company helping money move at internet
speed, to become the first licensed bank in the world to integrate USDC
payment rails as an alternative to SWIFT.
USDC is a digital dollar, also known as a stablecoin, that provides a
faster and more efficient way to send and receive money around the
globe, 24/7, including weekends, in under an hour. By adding outrails to
its existing USDC onramps, Xapo Bank enables members to bypass costly
and time-consuming SWIFT payments and instead deposit and withdraw with
no fees charged by Xapo Bank.
The bank is offering a 1:1 conversion rate from USDC to USD. All USDC
deposits at Xapo Bank are automatically converted to USD, meaning
members can benefit from a 4.1% annual interest rate return on deposits.
A fully licensed and regulated bank, Xapo Bank is a member of the
Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme (GDGS) and guarantees its members’
USD deposits up to *$100,000 USD equivalent. Ensuring member protection,
Xapo Bank does not stake any crypto deposits or have any exposure to
surrounding crypto markets as all deposits are automatically converted
to USD held by the bank.
Unlike traditional banks, Xapo Bank does not lend and therefore does not
rely on fractional reserve banking to make money as its core business
model. Instead, Xapo Bank has all its customers' funds in reserve and
invests in short-term liquid assets to pass the interest earned to its
customers.
Seamus Rocca, CEO of Xapo Bank, said:
“Xapo Bank’s USDC payment rails mark a watershed moment in financial
history, combining the speed and cost efficiency of the digital dollar
with the security guarantees of a licensed private bank. Enabling
auto-converted USDC deposits and withdrawals at Xapo Bank gives crypto
members a safe haven for their savings. Running 24/7, including
weekends, we eliminate the anxiety of keeping your money in exchanges
and the hassle of expensive offramps into traditional banks.”
“Xapo Bank was built to protect members’ savings. Unlike many
traditional banks, we do not offer customer loans; all of our customers'
money is held dollar for dollar on our balance sheet. It is invested in
very short-dated, highly credit-rated money market instruments and
short-term bonds. We pass that benefit to our members through a 4.1%
interest rate, paid daily.”
“We charge our members an honest membership fee of $150 USD that
helps us recover our overheads and means we don’t have to rely on paying
almost no interest to our members or use hidden fees to make money. We
give the benefit of more than 80% of the yield we generate back to our
members.”
Xapo Bank is constantly striving to grow its payment rails options,
offering members additional currency choices managed with the security
of a fully-regulated bank. The USDC news comes after last week’s
announcement that Xapo Bank had integrated with the
Faster Payment System
(FPS) to activate support for GBP settlement for account deposits and
withdrawals. Earlier this month, the bank also announced an integration
with Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, in collaboration with Lightspark.
*Xapo offers 4.1% interest on US dollar deposits, which are protected by
the GDGS up to €100,000 EUR (i.e. circa $106,673 at current exchange
rates).
To learn more about Xapo Bank, visit: https://www.xapo.com/
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