Rabobank scraps ‘crypto’ wallet

In a website report of Hard Fork, Dutch financial institution Rabobank has decided to drop its cryptocurrency service dubbed “Rabobit,” which aimed at bolstering the connections between bank accounts and digital currency.

“After careful consideration with our customers in mind we recently decided that now is not the time to develop the idea further and bring it to the next phase of innovation,” a Rabobank representative told the Hard Fork.

“We have learned valuable lessons about our customers and the crypto market and on how to design blockchain and crypto applications,” he added.

Part of the bank's Moonshot Program, Rabobank said the initiative has failed to achieve its purpose though it has “led to valuable insights and experiences for work in general.”

Like the ABN AMRO, Rabobank allegedly cited unsuitable regulatory conditions and financial risks as the reasons why it decided to cancel the Rabobit services.

“For instance, Dutch authorities, AFM (market conduct supervision) and DNB (Dutch central bank, financial stability) recommend regulations of cryptos at an international level,” the bank official said.

He, however, said the Rabobank hasn’t closed its doors on cryptocurrency as the “bank will keep an eye on the market and regulatory developments within the industry.”

Earlier this week, it was reported that ABN AMRO, the third largest in The Netherlands, cancelled its bid to introduce its own cryptocurrency wallet called “Wallie” because of risk concerns and its unregulated nature.

But, the bank said it is currently “exploring options” to launch a Blockchain inventory platform called “Forcefield” to market.

Aside from ABN AMRO, other giant companies such as Accenture, CMST International, Anglo American, Hartree Partners, OCBC Bank, Macquarie, ING Bank and Mercuria are signatories to an agreement to introduce the said platform.