One of the biggest banks in Switzerland, Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB), has started trading cryptocurrencies. Customers can now trade Bitcoin and Ethereum straight through its digital banking systems. This is a big step for the bank as it enters the market for digital assets. Customers will be able to trade cryptocurrencies 24 hours a day through ZKB eBanking and ZKB Mobile Banking.
It is also taking on the duty of safely storing the secret keys for its customers. ZKB is in charge of assets worth about 200 billion Swiss francs ($235 billion). This means that clients don’t have to handle their own cryptocurrency wallets, which makes things safer and easier for them. Alex Scriba, who is in charge of large clients at ZKB, stressed that the bank’s service provides high levels of security for users by incorporating cryptocurrency holdings into current portfolio views without any problems.
ZKB is expanding its crypto custody and trading option to third-party banks in addition to the trade services it already offers to individuals. Thurgauer Kantonalbank is the first bank in Switzerland to work with ZKB on this business-to-business (B2B) solution. This lets Swiss banks give their users trading and safe storage for cryptocurrencies. Crypto Finance AG, a division of Deutsche Börse Group, and ZKB have joined forces to make it easier to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
The start of this service shows that ZKB is still looking into digital assets. Since a few years ago, the bank has been working with blockchain. In 2021, it helped issue the world’s first digital bond through the SIX Digital Exchange. As more regular banks start to offer bitcoin services, we think that ZKB’s move will lead to more people using digital assets in Switzerland and other places as well.
