The banking world is getting a major makeover as big financial institutions discover that cryptocurrency trading can be quite profitable. These banks have found a clever way to make money from crypto without actually owning any digital coins themselves.
PNC Bank made history on December 9, 2025, by becoming the first major U.S. bank to offer direct bitcoin trading to its wealthy private banking clients. This $550 billion bank now lets customers buy, hold, and sell bitcoin right through their regular banking platform. It’s like having a crypto exchange built into your bank account.
PNC Bank becomes first major U.S. bank to offer direct bitcoin trading through regular banking platforms to wealthy clients.
The secret sauce behind this move is PNC’s partnership with Coinbase. Through Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service platform, PNC can offer secure bitcoin trading without dealing with the technical headaches of running crypto infrastructure themselves. Think of it like renting a fully equipped kitchen instead of building one from scratch.
Other major banks are jumping on this bandwagon too. JPMorgan Chase has teamed up with Coinbase to make crypto buying easier for customers, while Ally Bank now offers access to over 250 different digital assets.
Even international players like Amina Bank are expanding crypto partnerships for cross-border payments.
The profit model is pretty straightforward. Banks earn fees from every crypto trade their customers make, plus they can charge for custody services that keep digital assets safe. Since they’re using third-party platforms like Coinbase, banks avoid the risks of actually holding cryptocurrency while still capturing all the transaction revenue. Some banks may also explore offering staking rewards as an additional revenue stream, where customers can earn returns on their crypto holdings similar to earning interest in a traditional savings account.
This trend targets wealthy millennials and Gen Z clients who want crypto access but prefer the safety and familiarity of traditional banks. PNC Chairman William Demchak emphasized that this gives clients secure options that fit into their financial lives. Banks resistant to crypto adoption face the risk of falling behind as the best banks actively embrace these innovative opportunities. This structural shift reflects experts’ observations that traditional banking is fundamentally transforming to mainstream digital assets.
Looking ahead, Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab plan to launch crypto trading in 2026. As Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong notes, the biggest banks now view crypto as a real opportunity rather than a threat.
This shift from the margins to mainstream finance means customers can expect more banks to offer similar services soon, making crypto trading as normal as checking your savings account balance.
