One of the largest banks in the United States opens its doors to the crypto market. Starting this week, a select group of PNC Private Bank customers will have the opportunity to directly buy, sell and store Bitcoin (BTC), all through their existing banking environment. The step is possible through a partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase.
PNC opens doors for Bitcoin
PNC Bank is the first major American bank to make it possible to directly buy, sell and store spot Bitcoin via its own digital platform. The service is available exclusively to PNC Private Bank customers.
This asset management division of PNC focuses on wealthy individuals and families. So for the time being it concerns a select group that will have access to this scoop.
This is evident from an official post from crypto exchange Coinbase. The functionality runs entirely on Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform. This CaaS platform is an all-in-one infrastructure solution for banks and financial institutions.
It handles transaction execution, safekeeping of digital assets, and regulatory compliance in the background. Customers no longer have to use an external crypto exchange or separate wallet. Other parties that also use this service include Webull Pay, the payment branch of the well-known American investment app Webull.
The partnership between PNC and Coinbase was officially announced in July 2025, but has been in the works since 2021. For Coinbase, this is an important step towards traditional financial institutions.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, responded enthusiastically to the news via X: “It’s great to see more and more banks embracing crypto.” In addition, he added that “PNC is the first major U.S. bank to offer this type of service.”
More and more banks are getting into crypto
While the banking sector was hostile to crypto for years, more and more American banks are now embracing the sector.
Giant JPMorgan launched its own deposit token in November: the JPM Coin. This is a kind of stablecoin, but fully backed by bank deposits that customers have on JPMorgan accounts.
In addition, as of today, the US national banking regulator officially allows banks to purchase and hold Bitcoin for their customers.
Then there’s Bank of America, which recently allowed its thousands of wealth advisors for the first time to recommend a small crypto allocation of 1 to 4 percent to clients, with an emphasis on regulated Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
We also see steps in Europe. Since last Monday, two million people in France have been able to buy crypto via their banking app from BPCE, the second largest banking group in the country. The service is available through the Banque Popculair and Caisse d’Épargne apps and allows trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) and USDC.
Source: https://newsbit.nl/bitcoin-kopen-via-je-bank-in-amerika-kan-het-nu-voor-het-eerst/
