Dutch bank Rabobank that announced its plan to create a cryptocurrency wallet Rabobit in March last year is now from its plan due to the hindrance faced by the uncertain crypto regulations in the Netherlands. This according to The Next Web, May 23, 2019.
Not the Right Time
Soon after the of the Dutch bank ABN AMRO backing out from its plan to create its cryptocurrency wallet “Wallie,” we’ve circled back to a similar situation. This time, it’s Rabobank, another major Dutch bank that had announced its plan to create a “Rabobit” in March 2018.
The wallet, they announced, was a part of the Rabobank Moonshot program that was directed towards encouraging innovation in the industry. It was also an approach to bridging the gap between bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets
After more than a year, however, the bank seems unsatisfied with the promises made by cryptocurrencies, which is why they have dissolved their plan. A spokesperson of Rabobank explained that after considering the requirements of their customers, they realized that it wasn’t the right time to work on a cryptocurrency wallet.
A part of the reason for Rabobank stopping the development of Rabobit also included the erratic crypto regulations in the Netherlands; just as it was in the case of ABN AMRO. ‘s report on latter quoted the bank’s senior press officer:
“We have concluded that cryptocurrencies because of their unregulated nature are at the moment too risky [sic] for our clients to invest in.”
The Project Provided Valuable Insights
Despite the bank putting the cryptocurrency wallet project behind closed doors, the spokesperson told that the team has gained some valuable insights from it and that it has helped them gain a better understanding of blockchain and cryptocurrency and how applications were built around them.
Given the potential that these two technologies hold, the bank “will keep an eye on the market and regulatory developments within the industry.” And when they feel the time is right, they might take another shot at it.
For those unaware, Rabobank was first in 2018 after bashing bitcoins for their ease of being used for . Ironically, soon after their statements, they themselves were convicted for money laundering and were fined with $369 million.
Published at Fri, 24 May 2019 14:00:02 +0000
