The Canadian cryptocurrency industry seeks support from the Alberta government affiliated bank ATB Financial Bank

According to Bloomberg, Canadian cryptocurrency companies have unexpectedly found a strong supporter - ATB Financial Bank, a subsidiary of the Alberta government. As other financial institutions refuse to provide services, the Alberta government is seeking billions of additional revenue from blockchain companies. As a provincial-level Crown Company, ATB Finance has become one of the trusted banking partners in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries in this context. ATB Finance revealed in a statement that the bank has a team dedicated to serving cryptocurrency and fintech clients, which works closely with various departments across the bank to provide secure and compliant financial solutions for the industry. Eric Richmond, General Counsel and Head of Business Development at Shakepay, a Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform, pointed out that as cryptocurrency companies view Alberta as a business friendly region, they are beginning to relocate to the province and actively lobbying for better conditions and more banking services. Koleya Karringten, Executive Director of the Canadian Blockchain Alliance, also stated that there was a period of time when many Canadian companies actually shifted their business to Alberta in order to collaborate with ATB. However, Alex Mehrdad, General Manager of Kraken Canada, a cryptocurrency exchange, stated that although small banks and credit unions like ATB are more willing to collaborate with Kraken and other cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada, their services are not always comparable to those of large institutions. Mehrdad mentioned that this ultimately requires the use of multiple different intermediaries to handle transactions such as fund transfers, which will increase costs and expenses.