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The adoption of cryptocurrency within financial institutions has been slow compared to the demand from consumers. With banks and eCommerce companies holding bank on implementing crypto based options due to its unregulated and untraceable nature, German billionaire Michael Gastauer noticed a gap in the market. Armed with decades of financial education and experience, Gastauer launched Black Banx in 2015, a digital bank solution to financial exclusion.
Gastauer commented: “From my years of experience in the market and as the CEO of various fintech companies, I started to understand just how many people were turned away from opening up a bank account based on factors they could not control. As crypto gained popularity, I noticed the same thing happening, crypto users were being turned away from financial institutions.”
Being a crypto bank doesn’t change many of Black Banx’s core features. It’s much the same as a traditional bank, it just lacks physical branches and holds digital assets along with fiat currencies. According to Fintech News, over the last two years the crypto market has jumped over 500% to $1.7 trillion. Whilst it’s often depicted that followers of crypto are the likes of Elon Musk and similar notable figures, the truth is that a large portion of crypto users are the underbanked and populations of low income countries. Anyone can open and register an account, there are no gatekeepers or excessive fees, and the fluctuating nature of crypto is often helpful for people with lower incomes.
A ConsenSys report recently uncovered that 99% of Nigerians are crypto aware and KuCoin reported that half of the people in Turkey now own crypto. Rapid crypto ownership has been noted to follow the devaluation of government-issued currency. Crypto offers a safe haven for unstable governments, and Black Banx is gaining popularity as it gives customers full control over their digital assets.
Toronto-based Black Banx operates with 28 fiat currencies and two cryptocurrencies in an astonishing 180 countries. Its global scope covers markets accounting for approximately 90% of the world’s GDP, trade and capital flows. The Group is having a profound impact on banking and has established itself as a key force for innovation within the financial sector. Around 80% of Black Banx’s operations are in cross-border transactions, with 20% in cryptocurrency and currency related trading. Serving 28 million customers with an onboarding rate of 1.3 million a month, Black Banx has account options for private individuals, businesses and institutions. To cater to everyone, Gastauer ensured easy account opening. All a prospective customer needs is access to the internet and a form of photo identification to open a Black Banx account.
For its crypto customers Black Banx has a range of services available. These include:
- High Value Trading: Cryptocurrency transactions with no maximum limit and direct transfer to and from any wallet
- Instant Conversion of BTC and ETH to 28 fiat currencies and vice versa. Direct wire transfers to any third party bank account worldwide
- Instant Account Set Up
- International Wires: Direct bank wire transfers to any third party worldwide, fast and secure
- Customers can use their crypto balance to pay third parties directly from the platform
The man behind Black Banx
CEO and Founder Michael Gastauer is an advocate of the financial technology revolution with a net worth of more than US$10 billion AUM in the Gastauer Family Office (GFO). Gastauer founded his first company by his mid-twenties and in less than three years sold the business for US$16 million to a Swiss investment firm. His next venture was an online payment system that provided global card acceptance and payment processing solutions as one of the first in Europe for the eCommerce industry. Before being sold in 2008, Gastauer’s company reached a valuation of US$480 million.
Integrating crypto into Black Banx has ensured the Group to stand out against competitors, especially with the focus on giving crypto customers full autonomy over their assets, an element that many digital banks refuse to do. Gastauer’s understanding of financial inclusivity has made Black Banx the success it is today, as has his passion for financial technology.
Going forward, Black Banx is to reach over 30 million customers by the end of the year. Group Chief Financial Officer Alexander Johnson said: “Black Banx is well prepared to reach its annual revenue forecast for 2023 of US$1.9 billion and has a good chance to improve its profit margin even further.”
