Five Star Bank will offer a Bitcoin product

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A regional bank in Western New York is to provide a Bitcoin product to investors.

Five Star Bank, which is based in Wyoming County and has branches throughout the region, announced a partnership with NYDIG, a bitcoin company. This will allow Five Star customers to participate in bitcoin investments, which are part of a broader class of cryptocurrencies.

Five Star Bank CEO Martin Birmingham said his bank wanted to offer the product after getting feedback from customers.

“There’s generally very high interest in bitcoin,” Birmingham said. “We see it every day in the financial press, and there’s a big following. So, from a younger demographic, as well as a more affluent demographic, we heard comments in terms of interest. »

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be a volatile investment, which is why Chinmay Jain, assistant professor of finance at SUNY Geneseo, said it could be something a young investor, as opposed to someone close. of retirement, might consider.

He also noted that the banking industry was beginning to explore offering bitcoin-like products, even when some executives, like the head of JP Morgan Chase, expressed skepticism.

“A good example is JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon,” Jain said. “But they completely changed their stance, JP Morgan started investing in Bitcoin itself in 2018, so I think that trend will change.”

Five Star Bank says it will be one of the first financial institutions in the United States to offer Bitcoin to its customers, and it said it will do so through a secure online environment.

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