Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) to Offer Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading

Starting September 4, 2024, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), Switzerland's fourth-largest bank, will enable its customers to trade and securely store Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Switzerland’s fourth-largest bank, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), will enable its customers to trade and securely store Bitcoin and Ethereum, starting September 4, 2024.

This service will be seamlessly integrated into ZKB’s existing eBanking and mobile platforms, allowing clients to trade cryptocurrencies around the clock. It will also be easy to manage all the investments since the cryptocurrency will be a part of the customer’s portfolio along with traditional assets.

These coins are expected to be a new product in the market as a part of the strategy of ZKB to venture into the cryptocurrency industry. As ZKB’s Head of Institutional Clients & Multinationals, Alexandra Scriba, pointed out, the new service is reasonably secure here as the bank will hold private keys for users. This removes any concern that the customers may have in the storage of the digital assets since ZKB will both store and trade the cryptocurrencies. He also said that the service could even extend to include more cryptocurrencies and value adds in the future.

It is also crucial to emphasize that the new services related to cryptocurrencies introduced by ZKB are not restricted to its clients. The Swiss third-party banks are also allowed to use it so they can offer their customers the possibility to use and store the cryptocurrencies safely. The first company that has joined as a partner is Thurgauer Kantonalbank, which uses the infrastructure of ZKB to provide crypto services to clients. The trading of cryptocurrencies will be done by Crypto Finance AG, which is a subsidiary of the Deutsche Börse Group.

Actually, ZKB’s involvement in the blockchain technology project is not new. Earlier this year, it was involved in the launch of the first digital bond in the world through the SIX Digital Exchange. In 2023, ZKB worked as an issuing digital bond joint lead underwriter in the Swiss National Bank-led pilot program of bonds with reference to central bank digital currency.

Therefore, the decision of ZKB to enter the cryptocurrency market is evidence of the increase in the need for digital assets management services in Switzerland. Through the integration of trading and wallet features of Bitcoin and Ethereum, ZKB targets to become an important participant in the innovation of digital finance for its customers to engage in the decentralized financial environment.