The local Swiss government-owned commercial bank BKB will be offering cryptocurrency services through Bank Cler, the bank told Citywire Switzerland Monday. Founded in 1899, Basler Kantonalbank, also called Basel Cantonal Bank, provides retail, corporate, and private banking services. It has total assets of approximately $49 billion. Bank Cler said that its crypto push is in response to demand among its younger clientele, who wish to invest in crypto assets.
“We will launch an offering for the trading and custody of digital assets next year.”
Bank Cler’s spokesperson, Natalie Waltmann, said that they would launch an offering for the trading and custody of digital assets next year. The Swiss bank has hired Alain Kunz to lead its digital asset business. According to his LinkedIn profile, he is the CEO of fintech company Polarlab and founder of Tokensuisse. BKB and Bank Cler hold separate banking licenses in Switzerland. Waltmann told the news outlet that BKB is also interested in cryptocurrencies. Other banks in Switzerland that are offering cryptocurrency services or are planning to include Seba, which launched a range of crypto services in November last year, Sygnum, Julius Baer, and Falcon.
Central banks across countries continue to explore CBDCs.
Central banks across countries are currently exploring CBDCs, and many of them have made quite an impressive progress. China is set to become the first major nation to issue a national digital currency. The CBDC dubbed as Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) is currently being tested in many cities. Several economists and experts have claimed that the digital version of yuan could threaten the US dollar’s global dominance. An earlier report by the Bank for International Settlements had said that the ongoing pandemic had amplified the need for central bank digital currencies.
