Stanford FCU Branches Out Into New Crypto Services

A credit union in the center of California’s technology hub in the San Francisco Bay Area announced it rolled out a new cryptocurrency service allowing members to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin.

On Thursday, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Federal Credit Union ($3.9 billion in assets, 81,223 members) unveiled the new cryptocurrency offering and stated that fintech giants NYDIG and Q2 Software Inc. are powering it.

According to Thursday’s announcement, Stanford FCU members who sign up for the service in the first few months will receive $5 in free Bitcoin from NYDIG.

Stanford FCU’s crypto service includes:

• Easy signup and immediate access for current members;
• Clear account information;
• Bitcoin account management in Online Banking and the mobile app; and
• Automatic documentation for tax time.

“Stanford FCU recognizes the power of cryptocurrency in today’s e-commerce ecosystem. We want to make the process of using Bitcoin as streamlined, secure and user-friendly as possible for our members,” Stanford FCU President/CEO Joan Opp said. “We see both a need and opportunity here to support our members’ evolving needs while leveraging technology in a way that enables them to use cryptocurrency seamlessly in their everyday lives.”

“NYDIG is proud to partner with Stanford FCU to power its Bitcoin services in a secure and compliant way,” NYDIG Head of Banking Solutions Rahm McDaniel said. “A trusted institution like Stanford FCU wants to ensure the Bitcoin services offered to its clients meet the industry’s highest regulatory, audit and governance standards, and that is exactly what NYDIG provides. We are excited to partner with them to ensure their members have access to the opportunities associated with this emerging technology.”

According to Stanford FCU, the credit union saw nearly 25,000 buy and sell transactions by its members to and from crypto exchanges in 2021.

The timing of Stanford FCU’s announcement comes as NCUA Chairman Todd Harper sent a letter on May 26 to all federally insured credit unions that stated credit unions can use the technology behind cryptocurrency as long as they follow NCUA principals to ensure compliance with existing regulations and do not create undue risk.

Harper’s letter stated the NCUA does not prohibit credit unions from employing distributed ledger technology, which is used to support cryptocurrencies, “if it is deployed for permissible activities and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including applicable state laws or state supervisory authority requirements.”

Harper continued, “This letter also signals to the broader financial and technology communities that credit unions are a market to consider when designing products, considering partnerships or making investments,” he wrote.