Australia’s crypto sector is celebrating after the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) made history earlier this week as the first of Australia’s major banks to move into the crypto asset trading space.

Kraken Australia director Jonathan Miller said anything that gives more Australians access to cryptocurrency is a win for the sector.

“We welcome this move by the CBA and hope it will bring more support to Australia’s thriving cryptocurrency and blockchain sector,” he said.

Mr. Miller noted that CBA’s move into the crypto niche represents a major turnaround by the major bank, which has been accused in the past of its antagonism toward the local crypto industry.

Announced earlier this week, CBA is set to partner with crypto exchange Gemini to launch the feature in the coming weeks. Once it arrives, eligible customers will be able to buy, sell, hold and trade cryptocurrencies.

“The emergence and growing customer demand for digital currencies creates both challenges and opportunities for the financial services sector, which has seen a significant number of new players and business models innovating in this area,” said the CBA CEO Matt Comyn.

While the upcoming launch of crypto trading on the Commbank app is the headliner, Mr Comyn also teased the arrival of other new features for the popular mobile banking app.

“We remain committed to reimagining banking and will continue to bring more functionality to the CommBank app, including investing and shopping,” he said.

CBA’s CommBank app currently boasts 6.5 million customers, but crypto trading will only be available to 2,000 pre-selected customers to begin with. The bank plans to gradually roll out the feature to the rest of its customers over the course of 2022.

Also, not all cryptocurrencies will be supported. CBA said customers will have access to 10 different crypto assets, but did not specify which ones.

Currently, only major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin are confirmed.

This narrower focus is notable because it leaves more specialized crypto exchanges like Kraken, Binance, and Coinbase as a better option for more adventurous investors looking to fill their portfolios with fewer altcoins and memcoins.

With this competitive advantage in mind, Mr. Miller emphasized the importance of users doing their research before choosing to invest their money in any crypto trading platform.

“Blockchain technology allows users to safely withdraw and hold their cryptocurrencies directly, it is an open source technology and users should be aware that they are not limited to platforms that lock their assets like CBA’s proposal,” he said.

Mr Miller told nestegg earlier this year that it was clear that major Australian banks would eventually be considered a player in the crypto space, but that he did not expect them to offer it directly to their customers anytime soon.

“I think there are steps already in place, but do I see big four banks offering crypto directly to their customers in the next 12 months? Probably not,” he said.

For his part, Gemini’s global head of business development Dave Abner said the company is proud to partner with Australia’s first retail bank to offer crypto asset trading.

“The exponential growth of digital assets internationally, combined with Gemini’s institutional-grade security and proactive regulatory approach, positions this partnership to set a new standard for banks and financial platforms in Australia and around the world,” he said.

While Gemini operates the custody and exchange service itself, CBA has also partnered with Chainalysis to monitor and mitigate the use of crypto-asset trading for criminal purposes.

Chainalysis CEO Michael Gronager said financial institutions like CBA play an integral role in the safe growth of cryptocurrency adoption.

“We are excited to be part of this important alliance with CBA and our partner Gemini to play a pioneering role in building trust in cryptocurrencies in the Australian market,” he said.

H&R Block director of tax communications Mark Chapman said the move could make crypto trading easier, but warned it could also leave unwary investors confused by the ATO’s tax rules.

“As a reminder, any cryptocurrency investment comes with a potential CGT liability, whether you sell and convert your gains into Australian dollars or exit one cryptocurrency to invest in another,” he said.