Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday, September 05, 2024- Zurich Cantonal Bank (Zürcher Kantonalbank or ZKB) yesterday announced that it had introduced trading and custody services for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) service for its retail clients and third-party banks.
ZKB is ranked as the world’s second safest bank by Global Finance and is the fourth-largest bank in Switzerland.
The service, which includes cryptocurrency brokerage, is the result of a partnership with Crypto Finance, a digital asset firm owned by Deutsche Börse with regulatory approvals from Switzerland’s FINMA and Germany’s BaFIN.
ZKB has also developed its own crypto custody solution, with Fireblocks providing additional support.
As one of Switzerland’s four major banks and the largest cantonal bank owned by the canton of Zurich, ZKB has leveraged its strong financial standing to enter the cryptocurrency market.
Customers can now trade Bitcoin and Ether using ZKB’s mobile banking app, eBanking, and other available channels.
Switzerland is known for its supportive stance towards cryptocurrency, and while some wealth managers have been offering crypto services for years, retail offerings have been less common.
ZKB joins PostFinance, which began offering cryptocurrency services earlier this year through a partnership with Sygnum Bank.
In 2021, BBVA Switzerland was among the first banks globally to offer digital asset services without net worth requirements.
