Major Swiss Bank Launches Regulated Crypto Custody Services After Offering Bitcoin ETN

Vontobel, a major private bank of Switzerland has launched a crypto custody solution that will cater to asset managers and banks. According to the official press release, the new solution “Digital Asset Vault” makes Vontobel “the first bank in the world to offer the usual industry standards of quality within the established and regulated environment.”

With 110.3 billion in assets, the Zurich-based bank is the third largest financial custody provider in Switzerland that claims to be the first bank to offer their clients services including buy, sell or transfer digital assets.

Roger Studer, the Head of Vontobel Investment Banking stated,

“Digital Asset Vault represents the logical next step in the development of our range of services for digital assets. With our innovative strength and experience, we have thus closed the gap between existing and digital assets. By incorporating digital assets into our own banking infrastructure, we have also become the first provider to already meet the high standards required by financial intermediaries and their regulators.”

Vontobel’s new solution Digital Asset Vault will allow the clients to purchase, custody, and transfer digital assets easily and in a secure manner “within the banking infrastructure – like with traditional asset classes.”

According to its official announcement, it shares private keys no longer need to be held by the user and a clearer list of traditional and asset classes for tax purposes.

However, It’s not the first time Vontobel entered the crypto market. Back in 2016, it was among the first ones to offer Bitcoin certificate which was the most traded product on SIX Swiss Exchange, Europe’s largest stock exchange.

Gabor Gurbacs, the digital asset director at VanEck said,

While Blockstream CEO, Adam shared,

“We decided two years ago to make the new crypto investment world available to our clients. Our custody offering is a further step in this direction,” Studer said.

Taurus, a Geneva-based startup is actually helping Vontobel in its Digital Asset Vault solution. Specialized in crypto trading and storage, the startup has developed a platform that conforms to regulatory requirements.

Lamine Brahimi, the co-founder and managing partner of Taurus, in an interview with a media channel, stated,

“The cooperation between Taurus and Vontobel is of high importance for the Swiss financial market because we are linking up two worlds: traditional banking and crypto finance.”

Though Switzerland has always been favourable to cryptocurrencies, Swiss banks have yet to provide the liquidity that crypto providers have been looking for. Last year, the financial regulator of the country, Financial Market Supervisory Authority issued guidelines for license pursuants that can be crypto and blockchain firms, will be able to apply for fintech license from 2019.

For Vontobel working as a crypto custody service provider is just a step in its plan to present itself as a company focused on digital financial services. The next step reportedly is the tokenization of traditional investments say equity and bonds as Studer said, “We are also directing our innovation effort towards this area.”

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