Swiss banking group Swissquote has revealed plans to launch cryptocustody services by the end of March, according to the company’s results report for 2018, published on March 8.
According to the report, the company has been marketing five major cryptocurrencies since 2017 and is now introducing a cryptocustody service.
The new feature will be launched on March 21. According to the report, customers can transfer crypto from their external wallet to their Swissquote account and vice versa. As the document says, the measure will allow the company “to become a secure cryptocurrency trading platform fully integrated technologically and depositary for both private and institutional clients”.
The solution will be based on the services provided by the company fintech Crypto Storage AG.
Crypto Storage AG is a Swiss startup that provides infrastructure to manage private keys. According to the company’s website, it develops hardware security modules and provides services to financial intermediaries around the world.
As Cointelegraph reported previously, Swissquote began accepting Bitcoin (BTC) in mid-2017, following a similar decision by Swiss Falcon Private Bank.
Later that year, the company added four other important currencies: Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). In several months, Swissquote reported a 44 percent increase in profits for the first half of 2018, attributing the rise to the “crypto boom.”
In January of this year, Falcon Private Bank has introduced support for direct transfers and storage of four large cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin – in an attempt to make the assets of the block chain “totally” fundables “.
Also in January, the country’s leading private investment bank, Vontobel, has launched a crypto custody solution aimed at banks and asset managers.
Switzerland has been one of the pioneers in crypto adaptation at the state level. Recently, the country’s financial regulator, the Financial Market Supervisory Authority, published guidelines for companies that apply for a fintech license.