BBVA launches Bitcoin storage and trading service in Switzerland

One of Spain’s largest banks, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), with assets of $856 billion запустил a service for trading and storing cryptocurrencies in Switzerland.

According to the press release, after six months of testing the service will become available to BBVA’s private banking clients. From the launch, users will be able to store Bitcoin and conduct transactions with digital gold. In the future, the list of supported assets is expected to be expanded.

“The gradual rollout allowed BBVA Switzerland to test the operation of the service and to increase its security. The bank found that among investors there is significant demand for crypto assets or digital assets as a diversification tool for portfolios, despite their volatility,” the statement says.

As BBVA states, the new service will allow clients to combine traditional and digital financial assets in their portfolios. This is possible thanks to the integration of the cryptocurrency management system into the banking app.

The financial institution chose to launch the service in Switzerland because the country has “an ecosystem with clear regulation and broad adoption of digital assets.” Its expansion to new markets will depend on whether they meet the necessary maturity, demand and supervisory conditions.

Switzerland has a favorable stance towards Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In May 2021, the country’s national postal operator PostFinance и онлайн-банк Swissquote запустили приложение Yuh, which allows investing in digital gold, Ethereum and other virtual assets.

The country is also actively testing the digital franc — in June it became known that it would participate in the experiment on the use of CBDC in cross-border transactions.

Earlier in June, the Swiss-regulated crypto bank Sygnum expanded its range of services, offering clients storage and trading of DeFi-project tokens.