Bitstamp partners with cutting-edge LHV Bank to offer crypto trading

Bitstamp, the world’s longest-running cryptocurrency exchange, has today announced it will become the main liquidity provider for LHV Bank, which starts offering cryptocurrency trading to its customers in another sign that crypto is continuing to gain notable buy-in from traditional banking and financial services. Bitstamp is partnering with the bank to help deliver on its priority of bringing increased certainty and stability to crypto investors and the crypto market, which intersects with LHV’s mission to increase access to financial services and capital. LHV will today offer cryptocurrency trading, having allowed customers to invest in cryptocurrency related ETF-s via certain investment accounts since 2018. Founded in Slovenia in 2011 by Nejc Kodrič and Damijan Merlak, Bitstamp now has more than 4.4 million customers around the world and continues to expand rapidly. Over the last decade Bitstamp has seen the cryptocurrency market diversify significantly as assets have become more mainstream. This has included a huge influx of institutional investors attracted by Bitstamp’s track record, now accounting for 85% of the trading volume on the platform. Founded in 1999, LHV has now grown into the largest domestic banking group in Estonia, with over 300,000 clients using its banking services. The bank prides itself on being a forerunner of innovation among banks. As a separate business line LHV UK offers banking infrastructure, such as payments, to many leading global fintech companies. LHV is one of the main brokers in the Baltic region and a market leader for retail investors. LHV already offers its customers bonds, shares and other investment services – and views its offer of crypto trading as the next logical step. Julian Sawyer, CEO of Bitstamp, said: “LHV is a banking pioneer and rightly recognises the huge role cryptocurrencies will play in the next decade of financial services. At Bitstamp, our core aim is to provide a secure and reliable service for serious investors, and we’re delighted to work with LHV which shares our ambitions and is keen to bridge the gap between crypto and traditional banks. “The growing number of traditional banks looking to offer cryptocurrency trading proves yet again that cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly mainstream - and they are here to stay. This in turn will bring benefits to investors, with more of the traditional financial services institutions engaging in cryptocurrencies delivering increased stability to this space.” Madis Toomsalu, CEO of LHV Group, said:  “At LHV, we have always been looking for possibilities to innovate and, for many years, we have taken interest in blockchain technology. Crypto currencies are part of the new investment landscape and much sought after by our customers, therefore we are set to make trading in crypto assets available for our investment clients. “Bitstamp is already our well-established partner, as fintech-focused LHV UK has provided Bitstamp with payment and banking services since 2019 . We view the integration of Bitstamp’s crypto trading platform to our banking infrastructure as the next phase of our relationship. We are confident that Bitstamp’s easy-to-use trading solutions will be welcomed by our customers while introducing crypto currencies to new investors.”