“Vintage cars have done very nicely, fine wines are a good store of value as well,” he says. “I’m not dismissive, I think that it’s real, it’s happening out there. We don’t have a desire to be involved,” Elliott told this masthead earlier this year.

And for National Australia Bank introducing a product with money laundering risk would be a ‘too soon’ moment. AUSTRAC told NAB five months ago of its view that there is “potential serious and ongoing non-compliance” with customer identification procedures, ongoing customer due diligence and compliance with AML/CTF.

One interesting aspect to CBA’s crypto move is why (despite the risks) is this being pursued. CBA will receive a small clip of the ticket, but it doesn’t look like a revenue spinner.

CBA’s enthusiasm for crypto appears to be all about opening a new front in the battle brewing in the sector to attract younger adult customers.

This is also the key reason behind CBA launching a buy now, pay later (BNPL) product and why Westpac has gotten into bed with Afterpay. Meanwhile, ANZ and NAB have also developed products with many of the features of BNPL.

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When it comes to bank brand loyalty the Millennials and the Gen Z are a promiscuous bunch. Capturing them is the holy grail for most consumer product marketers.

And CBA has a long tradition of fostering customers from a young age, with the Dollarmites school savings program having been part of the fabric of the banking industry for many decades.

Allowing customers to seamlessly trade select cryptocurrencies through a CBA app will clearly appeal to younger (and often less risk averse) consumers. The idea is to deepen the bank’s relationship with customers and make them stickier.

The added bonus is that the frequency of app visits will increase as users regularly check the value of their digital coin - an asset class known for its volatility.

Because CBA is well ahead of the traditional banking pack on IT - it has the ability to play in new products and services.

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At this point CBA is dipping its toe into digital currencies only as an asset class - enabling customers to use the bank to facilitate investing. And Comyn on Wednesday went to great pains to emphasise that that investments carry risk and people are advised to invest in cryptocurrency only what they can afford to lose.

But CBA isn’t ruling out letting customers use digital currency to buy goods and services down the track.

CBA will enjoy playing the part of a trailblazer - at least in Australia. And it’s a luxury it enjoys courtesy of being the clear leader among the big four banks - in size, market share and technology.

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