Potzblitz! Swissquote, the leading Swiss online bank for trading, now also offers Bitcoin. Meanwhile, Vontobel’s bitcoin certificate is becoming the most traded financial product on the Swiss stock exchange for many days, and the private bank Falcon enables its customers to buy and store bitcoins. Is the Swiss Confederation now becoming a coin cooperative?
Somehow it is natural that Switzerland should play a pioneering role in Bitcoin. The country is stinking rich, but with the franc it still has a rather small, globally less important currency. In addition, Switzerland loves to hide the world’s money and gold in its many rocks, and since banking secrecy has been falling piece by piece, it could be attractive for many Swiss banks and their customers to break new ground in order to gain financial discretion and independence.
It is no surprise that Switzerland is one step further than the rest of the world when it comes to Bitcoin. Nevertheless, it is sometimes astonishing at what speed the Swiss Confederation is advancing. Last week saw three exciting news items from Switzerland, each of which would have seemed like a wild pipe dream to a Bitcoin fan two years ago. One of the main news was the bitcoin profit in some companies located in Switzerland.
Swissquote will introduce Bitcoin trading
Swissquote calls itself the leading institute for online banking in Switzerland.In fact, the web platform is primarily a hub for trading stocks, options, futures, and currencies, but it also includes a popular online account. With more than 320,000 customers and assets under management of around CHF 17.8 billion, Swissquote is definitely not a small animal in the Swiss financial enclosure.
The institute has now announced that it will be cooperating with the Bitstamp exchange . It will soon be possible for Swissquote customers to trade bitcoins for euros and dollars. Directly from the user interface of their online account, just as they used to buy and sell stocks and foreign currencies. This is the first time that an official bank is offering its customers direct trading in Bitcoins.
By now it should be clear that Bitcoins are already in the process of being part of the financial markets. Integrations like that of Swissquote not only bring Bitcoin as an investment good to traditional bank customers, but also open up numerous opportunities to use the cryptocurrency for international trade, for example. It’s a big step, but it’s only the first step. “This is our first foray into the world of Bitcoin,” explains Marc Bürki, CEO of Swissqote.
Vontobel’s Bitcoin certificate some days the most traded financial product in Switzerland
In mid-July 2016, the Swiss private bank Vontobel issued a Bitcoin certificate that shows the Bitcoin market value by covering the certificates with real Bitcoin.This should make it possible for average investors who do not want to know anything about private keys and so on to invest in the crypto currency.
According to the Neue Züricher Zeitung (NZZ), the certificate is a full one Success. “On many days it is the most heavily traded structured product on the Swiss stock exchange. The initially small issue volume of the certificate with a term of two years was quickly increased to CHF 20 million and has meanwhile increased to CHF 40 million. ”Due to the high demand, Vontobel is already considering a similar product based on Ethereum.
In addition, the Swiss Crypto Fund plans to set up a fund by the end of the year that will map a basket of crypto currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin. In the Netherlands, Cyber.capital is currently also working on an investment product based on cryptocurrencies. It is therefore very likely that the “Otto normal investor” will have the choice between various financial products in the near future, which will give him the chance to benefit from the increase in the value of crypto currencies.
Switzerland is serious about Bitcoin: Three exciting crypto news from the Swiss Confederation
The customers of the Swiss private bank Falcon can now store and trade bitcoins in their bank accounts. The bank, which specialises in asset management, manages around 12 billion Swiss francs for its customers. Its headquarters are in Zurich, but it has branches in Geneva, Hong Kong, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and London.
As reported by Reuters, the bank now shares Bitcoin with the Swiss crypto broker Suisse set up a “Blockchain Asset Management Service”. This service has been approved by the Swiss financial supervisory authority FINMA. First of all, customers will be able to buy and store bitcoins. At least the title of the program, “Blockchain Asset Service”, suggests that other cryptocurrencies will follow. For an international asset manager like the Falcon, cryptocurrencies should be exciting from the point of view of maintaining value as well as international trade.
To support the new service, Falcon Bank has a Bitcoin ATM in the lobby of its headquarters set up in Zurich. During business hours, customers can exchange bitcoins for cash and cash for bitcoins there.
The above information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by London Loves Business and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining from making) any investment decisions. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision.
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