Banca Generali, one of the largest and most important banks in Italy, has just announced the integration of Conio, an institutional service for the management of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, thus opening the doors to digital innovation.
According to release official published by General Bank, the entity will offer services with cryptocurrencies, and digital assets from 2021, through Coinage Inc. as its main strategic ally. For this, the banking entity also announced the investment of a total of 14 million dollars in the digital asset management company, which will be used to increase the capital of Conio Inc.
Banca Generali is owned by one of the largest insurance companies in Italy and Europe, Assicurazioni Generali, which seeks to lead the insurance market throughout the continent. Now, with the integration of these new services, it is clear that the Generali Group's vision is expanding, and looking towards a market that promises and harbors great potential for the future. The company stated that the association that both entities have just celebrated is intended to strengthen the corporate and commercial character of both; in addition, it foresees the entry of Banca Generali in the capital of Conio Inc, to support the growth of the company and the distribution of its products within the digital offer that the banking entity offers to its clients and users.
The bank also stated that it has an open architecture, which is enriched by the arrival of digital innovation and cryptocurrency services, to offer a complete range of innovative products and services to Banca Generali customers.
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Conio Inc. as a wallet service provider
In the statement, it seems that Banca Generali's intention is not to integrate a exchange or cryptocurrency exchange, but to integrate the services offered by Conio Inc, storage and custody of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, to offer these products to its clients.
The CEO and general manager of Banca Generali, Gian Maria Mossa, stated that Conio meets high regulatory and security standards, which have been key to the creation of the new partnership that the entities celebrate. In addition, Gian Maria Mossa also assured that Conio Inc. stands out, among many of the wallet service provider companies in Italy, for its exclusive technology and patents designed to guarantee secure custody, which effectively help reduce counterparty risk in the management of digital assets. Conio Inc. offers custody services multi-signatures, with up to 3 private keys, and which may be extended in the future.
Technological and management innovation
In his remarks, the CEO of Banca Generali also highlighted that the new alliance allows the bank to innovate in new technologies, and significantly improve its capabilities for managing digital assets, which are already becoming an essential part of today's society.
“We predict that the future structure of financial markets will be influenced by blockchain technology, which continues to enable innovation in cryptocurrencies and many other areas of the financial ecosystem.”
Faced with the growing reality, many banks began to innovate within technology blockchain, and are developing studies and analysis to integrate cryptocurrencies and digital assets into their products and services, as well as to take advantage of the potential of these technologies and develop new forms of money, alternatives to conventional fiat money, such as CBDCGian Maria Mossa placed special emphasis on the current context of digital innovation, where digital currencies and cryptocurrency exchanges are already being introduced into banking services, creating new blockchain-based banks and even tokenizing their shares to represent them within a blockchain.
Technological innovation in Europe
In Europe, for example, the European Central Bank (ECB) is studying the possibility of issuing a digital euro, an investigation that has been joined by several central banks in European countries, such as Spain and France.
In Italy, meanwhile, commercial banks have been innovating in blockchain technology to optimize their services, through the Spunta network developed on the R3 blockchain, which allows them to streamline bank reconciliations between all the banks participating in this network. In addition, the country's Central Bank has also been implementing blockchain technology to develop a digital guarantee on this technology, a solution with which it seeks to reduce corruption and guarantee the genuine backing of contracts and bonds granted.
In this context, Gian Maria Mossa explains that the alliance with Conio will allow the company to effectively expand the range of services that Banca Generali offers to its clients and users.
Digital innovation in other parts of the world
Just as in Italy, Banca Generali is entering the world of digital assets, in the United States, the New York-based bank, Quontic Bank, is also innovating within this industry, by becoming the first banking entity in the country to launch a verification rewards program Bitcoin and issue a debit card for this cryptocurrency.
In an interview he cites CoinDesk, Steve Schnall, CEO of Quontic Bank, noted that this is the first time that a banking entity has used Bitcoin to create an innovative product aimed at meeting the needs of consumers and users.
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