UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, is the latest bank to explore offering its wealthy clients access to cryptocurrency, according to a report from BNN Bloomberg citing unnamed sources.
The source says that cryptocurrency would only be a small proportion of any client’s portfolio.
The same BNN Bloomberg report states that the third largest Swiss bank, Julius Baer, is looking to offer clients access to crypto-assets. While it may be exploring additional services, in January 2020 we reported that Julius Baer started offering digital asset services to its clients in Switzerland. Julius Baer’s own announcement is here. This followed a relationship with and investment in SEBA, the Swiss digital asset bank. Hence Julius Baer was one of the very first big banks to provide this sort of service.
On Friday, the Financial Times reported that Citi is looking to get involved in cryptocurrency trading. Other banks such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BBVA and DBS Bank are providing investment options as part of their wealth management offerings. And several banks are providing cryptocurrency custody solutions. These include BNY Mellon which recently invested in Fireblocks, Standard Chartered and Northern Trust are collaborating on Zodia, and ING has launched distributed custody solution Pyctor, partnering with multiple top-five global custodians, including State Street.
