Quote from: The_Dark_Knight on May 14, 2017, 03:45:52 PM

Quote from: joshy23 on May 14, 2017, 03:22:57 PM

Quote from: Celsiuss on May 14, 2017, 03:10:31 PM

A bank called Skandiabanken in Norway now supports Bitcoin. However you cannot purchase the Bitcoins through the bank, you'll be redirected to Coinbase in order to buy.

I don't have this bank myself, so I cannot test this. It seems like it's just linked to Coinbase and the bank does not store the coins on their servers.

This feature is in a beta phase, and the laws in Norway could cause conflicts. I think this is a huge step, and I hope this will soon be supported in more banks. This feature is mainly for investors, you cannot use it to pay bills and such.

Here's a link to the article translated to English: https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.no&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=http://e24.no/privat/bitcoin/naa-faar-du-bitcoin-i-nettbanken-kan-ikke-fornekte-ny-teknologi/23996559&usg=ALkJrhjVd47hlRvCuPcMw4r7-8SKmywfYw

I think this is huge step indeed, but I would be cautious because well all know that banks don't like bitcoin because of its de-centralized features that is why you can buy directly but to use an exchange. But why used banks anyway when you can just buy it thru local coins or exchanges like coinbase that they have pointed at? Well, I think we should monitor and how see things work out with this setup in Norway.

Because some people are willing to give up privacy to win in comfort and to be able to cash out their earnings easier when they are trading, so to me it makes sense for this service to exist also banks only care about one thing earning money, so it makes sense at some point some are going to accept bitcoin.

You have also to consider that both if you want to buy or if you want to sell Bitcoins, at some point you need an interface to FIAT, since nobody is born with a wallet full of Bitcoins. If bigger sums are involved, a bank is needed, since that's where the FIAT usually comes from of ends up. So welcome to Bitcoin-friendly banks, versus banks which would close your account if they find out you are getting money from cryptos.