PostFinance, the fifth largest bank in Europe's financial center Switzerland, has announced that it will begin offering users access to cryptocurrency through its partnership with regulated digital asset services provider Sygnum Bank.
Swiss State-Owned Bank to Offer Cryptocurrency Service to PostFinance Customers
PostFinance will begin offering its 2.5 million customers access to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum, thanks to its partnership with Switzerland's Sygnum Bank.
PostFinance, wholly owned by the Swiss government, will begin providing its 2.5 million customers with access to buy, store and sell leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), with more crypto tokens added when the time comes.
Switzerland is walking its own way, in stark contrast to places like the United States, where a concerted effort to eradicate crypto seems like the ultimate goal.
Crypto-focused Sygnum, which received a banking license from Swiss regulators nearly four years ago, serves a number of institutions, including Cantonal banks and private banks.
"Digital assets have become an integral part of the financial world and our clients want to access this market from their trusted parent bank, PostFinance," PostFinance Chief Investment Officer Philipp Merkt said in a statement.
"A reputable and established partner with excellent service like Sygnum Bank is more important than ever."
According to Sygnum Bank B2B Director Fritz Jost, PostFinance's decision to enter crypto was partly driven by exits from retail banks in Switzerland into the digital asset class.
“PostFinance realized that there are hundreds of millions of exits to crypto exchanges and the like each year,” Jost said in an interview.
“So they saw that this was not just an opportunity to add a new revenue stream, but they also realized that it had a lot to do with customer retention.”
Jost said that various cryptocurrencies will definitely be made available, but that has yet to be decided by PostFinance.
*Not investment advice.