RBC, the biggest bank in Canada by market share, recently filed for various patents in the crypto space. In an exclusive story appearing in The Logic, the Royal Bank of Canada made patent filings that hint to the possibility of the bank opening a crypto exchange as well as a point of sale portal. The PoS portal would be aimed at making payments easy for merchants that accept crypto payments.
Patent Filings by Large Companies – Not Unheard Of
Major companies usually have a research division and they often proactively file patents, even when they do not intend to begin using them. This could be a defensive move in case they do decide to enter the retail payments space in the future. However, these patent filings are significant given the size of RBC’s share in the Canadian market.
If RBC’s patents are approved and it decides to implement them, it would make a notable impact when it comes to crypto adoption in Canada. The bank has over 10 million customers and over 1200 branches throughout Canada. This could play a major role in the mainstream adoption of crypto.
Thus far, RBC has not issued any statements or commented on the patent filings. The company’s spokesperson only confirmed that they had filed for patents and not much else. This patent filing could spur other major banks in North America and elsewhere around the world to take crypto adoption seriously.
In Could Breathe Life in Canada’s Crypto industry
2019 has not been a good year for Canadian exchanges. Their reputation was dealt a huge blow when QuadrigaCX collapsed. It was discovered that the CEO had stolen over $80 million in customers’ funds before he mysteriously died shortly after. The result was that most clients lost their funds held in the exchange.
Recently, another Canadian exchange, Einstein Exchange, announced that it would shut down in 90 days after October 31. The British Columbia Securities Commission shortly after intervened and announced that it had taken over the exchange. They undertook the action after numerous customers complained that they were unable to withdraw their funds from the exchange.
Canada’s Central Bank is Also Looking into Crypto
In September, it was widely reported that Canada’s central bank was looking into the possibility of creating a Central Bank Digital Currency. It was reported that the results of a research project, which had been going on for a few years had been presented to the bank’s top officials. The result of the research allegedly claimed that the issuance of a digital currency by the bank would not conflict with the existing payment rails run by the bank. Ultimately, the study concluded that the bank needed to stay ahead of the game instead of playing catch up.
The revelation was not much of a surprise, there has been a lot of chatter around CBDCs in recent weeks. This has ranged from the creation of a digital Yuan to the creation of a digital Euro.
Image Source: Flickr / ishmael n. daro
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