Vontobel, one of the most important private banks in Switzerland, announced in an official press release that it will launch a cryptocurrency escrow service for banks and asset managers.
About Vontobel
The bank, located in Zurich, will be the third largest financial institution to offer a cryptocurrency escrow service in Switzerland, counting around 112.2 billion dollars in assets under its tutelage, while developing an asset management tool, according to a Financial report of the company in 2017.
With the launch of this new digital asset custody solution – called Digital Asset Vault – the private bank claims to be the first bank in the world to meet both the requirements of industry regulators and those of financial intermediaries.
The new tool
This new tool will allow asset managers to offer their clients an important series of services related to cryptocurrencies, including the purchase, transfer and storage of digital assets.
According to the announcement, Vontobel’s Digital Asset Vault operates under the same premise as traditional assets in accordance with banking infrastructure rules, in which customers will acquire an alternative to traditional personal records, in addition to a consolidated picture of your digital and traditional assets.
How will it work?
To protect the reserves of its users, Vontobel will combine its own banking technology infrastructure with the Hardware Security Module (HSM) technology.
On the other hand, it is important to remember that this bank had already pronounced itself as a bank in favor of cryptocurrencies, operating as a lender so that its clients can invest in digital assets.
Vontobel and Bitcoin
In 2017, local reports indicated that Vontobel’s Bitcoin (BTC) certificate was the most exchanged product in Europe’s largest share platform, the SIX Swiss Exchange.
At the end of 2018, the financial regulator of Switzerland, the Financial Market Supervisory Authority, issued guidelines for its FinTech license, with businesses related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain companies ready to apply for it at the beginning of this year.