Puerto Rico Has A Bank For Crypto Traders

| Publish date: 04/03/2019
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San Juan Mercantile Bank & Trust International (SJMBT) has just opened its doors in Puerto Rico. It is basically an institution specifically catering to traders of digital currencies.

Introducing SJMBT

According to an official announcement, SJMBT has just received its first-ever client deposit. The company was given license last month, with the county’s Office of the Commission of Financial Institutions (OCIF) deeming it as an international financial entity (IFE). The bank, by essence, is part of MGH or better known as Mercantile Global Holdings.

MGH, in particular, is also the owner of San Juan Mercantile Exchange (SJMX). This one right here is an upcoming institutional-grade electronic trading platform specifically designed for cryptos.

The bank is expected to provide custody and settlement services aimed at crypto and fiat, both of which will be traded on the exchange. The bank itself is not necessarily insured by the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). However, a spokesperson from the institution said that it will place clients’ deposit directly at correspondent banks.

Likewise, customers’ cryptos will be stored at approved crypto custodians. Apparently, though, the spokesperson did not name any of its correspondents and/or custodians, not even its initial clients.

Benefits of Custody and Trading At Once

According to MGH, there are benefits to allowing both custody and trading to take place under one place. For instance, the exchange is going to highly consider all customer balances on deposit when trying to set trade limits. By doing so, the bank will have the ability to perform trades in real time.

Considering the fact that more liquidity ventures are starting to onboard with SJMX when it comes to trading digital assets, the bank will definitely play a crucial role in providing these services. This includes real-time settlement, support of trading activities by customers, and account re-balancing, just to name a few, said the president and chief operating officer of the bank named Nick Varelakis.

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Interestingly, MGH’s leadership features veterans of titular financial institutions. Varelakis, for instance, worked previously in JPMorgan Chase. He was, at that time, the executive director for business architecture and transformation. He also served as the chief operating officer of the Noble Bank in Puerto Rico. This bank, in particular, is popular in the cryptocurrency space for its erstwhile relationship with the namesake stablecoin maker Tether.

Furthermore, the MGH bank and exchange became a reality just a year ago thanks to J. Robert Collins. He is none other than the former president of NYMEX and the man behind the existence of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange.

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