There’s a New Medici Bank After 500 Years, And This Time It’s Crypto-Friendly

Prince Lorenzo de’ Medici – a descendant of the famed Renaissance-era Italian banking family, the House of Medici – has opened a bank in Puerto Rico.

Medici Bank, “born out of frustration with the current financial services landscape,” aims to offer faster, cheaper and more transparent services, according to an announcement Wednesday. Notably, the new institution will serve cryptocurrency firms, as well as other more traditional clients such as family offices.

Lorenzo de’ Medici founded the bank alongside Ed Boyle, who was previously managing director of Americas at Fidor Bank and vice president and general manager of American Express’ prepaid card business before that. Boyle is now serving as the CEO of Medici Bank, while de’ Medici takes the role of director.

Speaking to CoinDesk, Boyle said the bank has obtained an International Financial Entity (IFE) license from Puerto Rico’s Office of the Commission of Financial Institutions. He added that the bank is not seeking a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) charter in the U.S. since that is “not highly relevant for corporate or family office customers with very large deposits.”

Although Medici Bank is willing to serve cryptocurrency businesses that comply with due diligence and know-your-customer processes, it is not an exclusive focus of the bank, according to Boyle.

De’ Medici said in the announcement:

“The original Medici Bank of Florence, founded by my family in the 14th century, revolutionized the world’s economy. Many of their innovations that drove the development of international commerce — like holding companies, double-entry bookkeeping, and letters of credit — are still in use.”

“The Medici Bank of today will be a reawakening of that innovative spirit; we are re-imagining modern-day banking by leveraging technology that creates seamless, digital customer experiences and expands financial opportunity across global markets,” he added.

Medici villa image via Shutterstock