Falcon Private Bank has become the first Swiss bank to offer customers bitcoin and crypto asset management services, in cooperation with Bitcoin Suisse AG, an asset manager and financial service provider specializing in crypto-assets. The bank allows customers to buy, hold and sell bitcoin.
Bank customers will be able to buy and liquidate bitcoin through the bank’s e-banking platform or their account manager. They will be able to monitor their holdings in custody directly in their online portfolio and on their account statements.
A bitcoin ATM will be available in the lobby of the bank’s Zurich branch.
Financial Authority Approves Product
The Swiss Financial Markets Regulatory Authority has approved the product. Bitcoin Suisse AG will provide the infrastructure and serve as the AML-regulated broker for the bank.
Falcon Private Bank, based in Zurich, has 14.6 billion CHF of client assets (31.12.2016) and has locations in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London and Luxembourg.
An Active Crypto Supporter
As the bank’s crypto-asset broker and infrastructure partner, Bitcoin Suisse AG has assisted in providing a full suite of services to acquire, safeguard, track and trade crypto-assets for both institutional and individual clients.
Bitcoin Suisse AG, launched in 2013, offers a range of services for individuals, companies and institutions in the crypto-financial market, including brokerage, trading, asset management, ICO services, software integrations and consulting solutions.
Nicolas Nikolajsen, CEO of Bitcoin Suisse AG, said:
A bank offering crypto-assets is a game changer, as it gives institutional clients and high net worth individuals a counterparty in regard to crypto-assets upon which they can rely: a regulated Swiss bank.
Bitcoin Suisse AG also provides the crypto-payment solution infrastructure for the town of Zug, which in July 2016 became the first public entity worldwide to accept bitcoin and other crypto-assets as payment for public services.
Focus on Financial Diversification
“With the recent growth in market capitalization and liquidity, bitcoin and the other major crypto-assets offer a way to diversify cash holdings. While the volatility of crypto-assets has historically been very high, the trend in the past few years has been very positive, as adaption has grown, with the Falcon Private Bank offering now definitively bridging the gap between crypto- and traditional finance,” Nikolajsen said.
This past year, high net worth individuals and institutions have increasingly demanded access to directly invest and diversify into bitcoin through a trustworthy and regulated financial institution, and we are excited to be a part of realizing this demand through our collaboration with Falcon Private Bank.
“Switzerland is not only historically one of the most important and trustworthy financial markets in the world, it is also currently at the forefront of fintech development, and has probably the most progressive regulatory framework for crypto-finance anywhere in the world,” he added. “That is particularly interesting for both established companies and start-ups engaging in the crypto-financial space, since the transparent and progressive regulatory approach of the Swiss financial market supervising authority, the FINMA, has created clear rules of engagement for dealing with digital finance.”