The fourth-largest bank in Switzerland, Zurich Cantonal Bank, has expanded its financial capabilities by introducing cryptocurrency trading and custody services.
The fourth-biggest bank in Switzerland, Zurich Cantonal Bank, has formally joined the cryptocurrency space and is now allowing its customers to store and trade Ethereum and Bitcoin.
The bank stated in a news release dated September 4 that the new product is connected with ZKB eBanking and ZKB Mobile Banking, two of its current digital platforms.
According to the press release, the bank has teamed up with Crypto Finance AG, a division of the Deutsche Börse Group, to carry out cryptocurrency exchanges.
ZKB’s head of institutional clients & multinationals, Alexandra Scriba, explains that since the bank would manage both procedures, clients and third-party banks won’t need to carry their own wallets or worry about keeping their private keys on hand.
ZKB is entering the cryptocurrency market for its customers and other Swiss banks by providing a business-to-business solution that allows them to offer custody and trading services for cryptocurrencies.
According to the news release, the first partner bank to use this service is Thurgauer Kantonalbank, a Swiss cantonal bank.
The most recent action continues ZKB’s recent efforts to enter the cryptocurrency market. The bank has been actively investigating blockchain technology in recent years, having taken part in the world’s first digital bond issuance on the SIX Digital Exchange in 2021 and serving as co-lead manager in a 2023 Swiss National Bank pilot project for issuing digital bonds using digital currency from the central bank.
ZKB’s endeavor coincides with a more extensive proliferation of cryptocurrency services among Swiss financial establishments.
With the extension of its business-to-business services to over 20 businesses, including PostFinance, ZugerKB, and LuzernerKB, crypto-friendly bank Sygnum, based in Zurich, it opened up the crypto markets to a large segment of the Swiss people in late June.
