Barclays has recently announced that it will start accepting the controversial digital currency, bitcoin, later this year, as reported by The Sunday Times.



The UK-based multinational financial services firm stated that bitcoin has the "potential to change financial services" and has entered into partnership with an unnamed bitcoin exchange and intends to start the experiment by the end of the year.



It has already been conducting experiments into the digital currency in London-based labs and working with start-ups. Now it plans to test the cryptocurrency to allow people to donate to charities in bitcoin.



Derek White, chief design and digital officer at Barclays, told The Sunday Times, "Barclays is enabling the bitcoin exchange to help charities accept bitcoin."



The report further pointed out that Barclays is not the only bank that is taking its first step towards bitcoin and added that UBS is studying the "blockchain" or database, which records all bitcoin transactions.