The Swiss banking group Swissquote has announced that it intends to launch crypto-depot services towards the end of March.
According to the report, the company has been trading with five major crypto currencies since 2017 and is now launching a crypto-depot service.
The new feature is expected to be released on March 21st. According to the report, customers can transfer crypto currencies from external wallets to their Swissquote account and vice versa. The document states that the company is “becoming a secure and technologically fully integrated crypto currency trading platform and depository for private and institutional clients.”
The solution is based on the services of the fintech company Crypto Storage AG.
Crypto Storage AG is a Swiss start-up that offers private key management infrastructures. The company’s website states that it is developing hardware security modules and providing services to financial intermediaries around the world.
As Cointelegraph reported earlier, in mid-2017 Swissquote started accepting Bitcoin (BTC) after the Swiss Falcon Private Bank took a similar step.
In the same year, the company has gradually added four other major currencies that it now supports. These are Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Swissquote posted a gain of 44 percent for the first half of 2018 within a few months. This recovery was attributed to the “crypto-boom”.
In January of this year, Falcon Privatbank began offering direct transfers and deposits for four major cryptocurrencies, namely Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin. This should make Blockchain assets “fully bankable”.
In January, Vontobel, the country’s largest private investment bank, also launched a crypto-deposit solution for banks and asset managers.
Switzerland is considered a pioneer in terms of cryptographic use at the state level. Recently, the Financial Market Authority issued guidelines for companies wishing to apply for a fintech license.