Banco Galicia is one of the largest private banks in Argentina. It has now added cryptocurrencies to its investment services. Customers of the bank can now invest in crypto assets directly through the banking app without the need to use any third-party exchanges. Banco Galicia is the first bank in Argentina to offer this service.

Several customers of the bank were shocked to hear the news via social media. This functionality will be offered via a partnership to Lirium. Lirium will act as an exchange that executes the customers’ orders and as a custodian for the cryptocurrencies.

These new services were created in response to customer demand, given the popularity of crypto instruments. Ariel H. Sanchez (manager of investment products) and Nicolas de Giovanni (senior product manager at Banco Galicia discussed.

Over 90% of people are familiar with cryptocurrency and many see it as an investment option and a way to secure their financial future. Our clients were asked by us to conduct a survey and found that more than 60% wanted to include these assets in their investment portfolio. The youngest people are the most interested.

Advice and Crypto Picks

The institution chose conservatively the cryptocurrencies that will be made available via its home banking app. At launch, BTC and ETH were the only four assets listed. USDC was also included, as well as XRP. In the first phase of its offering, the bank said that it will only offer cryptocurrencies linked to projects with practical uses, such as smart contracts, blockchains, and registries/ledgers.

Banco Galicia recommended that customers who have a high- or moderate-risk investment profile only invest in crypto due to the volatility of these new investment instruments.