Plaid Adds User-Financial Data From Crypto Exchanges
- Plaid has already added Gemini, Kraken, and Binance.US account data. It plans to have a vast database of crypto account providers.
The open banking system that collects user financial data (Plaid) has announced that it now aggregates account data from crypto exchanges. Already, Plaid has aggregated account data from Gemini, Binance.US, and Kraken. Hence, Plaid users can now access data like the different crypto assets each exchange holds, their balances, and transaction details.
Plaid Adds Crypto Exchange Data
The San Francisco-based firm currently provides data about the crypto holdings of apps such as SoFi and Robinhood. Its ultimate plan is to have a broad database of crypto account providers. Later this year, Plaid hopes to have completed the integration of account data from Blockchain.com and BitGo.
In a recent interview, Alain Meier, Plaid’s head of identity, spoke about Plaid’s plans. According to Meier, many people can’t understand the differences between their crypto and traditional finances. Hence, Plaid’s goal is to enable users to view their finances under one dashboard.
He added that the move has become necessary due to the fast growth of the crypto sector. Last December, a CNBC survey revealed that over 80 percent of Millennials are crypto holders. Hence, a single dashboard containing a user’s crypto and traditional financial assets is helpful in many ways.
They can plan their finances, assess their taxes and calculate their net worth. Meier added that Plaid users could integrate their other accounts into Plaid. They can link their US Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), brokerage and retirement accounts, 529 plans, and investment accounts. A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged account holders can use to take care of their education-related expenses.
With banks gradually opening up to digital innovation, Plaid is one of the platforms that have been part of the rapid growth in fintech apps. Like banks, crypto exchanges are also cautious about exposing their customers’ data. They are right to be careful, given the constant threat of hacks in crypto space recently.
Side Notes
Meier said Plaid offers a read-only transaction feed that includes transfer apps, wealth management apps, and other similar apps. Hence, none of these apps can provide a loophole for hack attacks. The Plaid CEO added that the platform has tight risk management and due diligence policies for its customers.
In addition, Plaid is already in partnership with various crypto exchanges such as Coinbase. It has been offering these exchanges bank-linked account funding and identity verification services. The fintech firm expressed huge interest in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space two years ago.
That interest spurred Plaid to launch an API that enabled sharing of transaction data among third-party fintech platforms. Meier further claimed that most Plaid employees are crazy about cryptos. Hence, the company plans to close the gap between Web2 and Web3. It intends to achieve that by developing useful tools.
Rebecca is a Senior Staff Writer at BitcoinWisdom, working hard to bring you the latest breaking news in the cryptocurrency market. In the words of Elon Musk “Buy stock in several companies that make products & services that *you* believe in. Only sell if you think their products & services are trending worse. Don’t panic when the market does. This will serve you well in the long-term.”
