Main Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum Now Obtainable for Swiss Santander Accounts

Santander Non-public Banking Worldwide is now permitting its high-net-worth purchasers with financial institution accounts in Switzerland to commerce and maintain Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

Part of the Spanish banking large Banco Santander, Santander Non-public Banking Worldwide plans to develop its crypto choices within the coming months by introducing further digital belongings that align with its screening standards, a CoinDesk report from Monday mentioned, citing an inside announcement.

The report famous that the service is obtainable to all personal banking purchasers with accounts in Switzerland, no matter whether or not the consumer resides in Switzerland or not.

Santander reportedly emphasised within the inside be aware that the crypto buying and selling service is solely supplied upon consumer request by their relationship managers.

The be aware additionally mentioned that digital belongings purchased by purchasers shall be held by a regulated custodian that shops the personal keys to the belongings.

The wording signifies that self-custody of crypto won’t be supported by Santander in the interim.

Nonetheless, the transfer units Santander aside from many different main banks, because it provides entry to digital belongings on open and permissionless blockchains, versus closed and permissioned blockchains which are being developed by banks like JPMorgan.

Purchasers anticipated to embrace custodial mannequin

In a remark to CoinDesk, John Whelan, Santander’s head of crypto and digital belongings, praised the regulatory framework for crypto in Switzerland, and mentioned he expects purchasers to embrace the custodial mannequin for his or her crypto holdings.

“As holding of crypto instead asset class continues to develop, we anticipate that our purchasers want to depend on their current monetary establishments to be liable for their belongings,” Whelan mentioned.

Santander Non-public Banking Worldwide serves round 210,000 rich purchasers, managing belongings and deposits totaling roughly $315 billion.

The financial institution has not but commented publicly on its transfer to supply crypto to personal banking purchasers.