Italian Insurance Giant Generali Gets Into Bitcoin via Banking Arm, Launching Crypto Custody Service

Banca Generali, the banking arm of Italy’s largest insurance group, has announced that it will be offering cryptocurrency custody service to its customers beginning next year. To achieve this, the bank has acquired a stake in bitcoin wallet provider Conio.

Assicurazioni Generali, Banca Generali, and Conio Bitcoin Wallet

The banking arm of Italy’s largest insurance company, Assicurazioni Generali Group, announced Tuesday “the launch of a new corporate and commercial partnership with Conio Inc., a fintech company operating in the cryptocurrency industry.”

The Italian stock exchange-listed Banca Generali is a private bank that is part of the main Generali Group. It manages over 70.4 billion euros ($85.6 billion) in assets for more than 300,000 customers. The majority of the bank’s shares are owned by Assicurazioni Generali. In April 2018, Banca Generali won Global Brands Awards organized by Global Brands Magazine. The bank has been awarded the “Best Private Bank in Italy” by the FT’s Group magazines in multiple years.

Tuesday’s announcement details:

Under this partnership agreement, Banca Generali will acquire a stake in Conio Inc. to support the company’s growth and the distribution of its products as part of the Banca Generali’s range of digital services offered to its customers.

“A commercial distribution agreement” between Banca Generali and Conio allows the bank to “start offering Conio’s services to Banca Generali’s customers in 2021.” Banca Generali recently led the $14 million funding for Conio Inc. However, the bank has not announced the exact date of the crypto service launch.

Founded in 2015, Conio is an Italian bitcoin wallet provider that allows users to buy, sell, and hold BTC. The announcement describes that the bitcoin firm also provides “financial institutions, banks and insurance companies integrated solutions for the management of digital assets, from wallets for the management of cryptocurrencies to the integration of blockchain protocols within cards and payment services on smartphones.”

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