Spanish banking giant BBVA is making its cryptocurrency trading and custody service available to private banking clients in Switzerland on Monday.
- BBVA said Friday that after six months of testing the service with a selected group of users, it is now making trading available to BBVA Switzerland clients. The entity will not be offering advice on these types of investments, however.
- This includes bitcoin trading and custody services with the aim of extending the services to other cryptocurrencies, the bank said.
- BBVA said the service will be available only to clients in Switzerland because of the country's clear regulations and the widespread adoption of digital assets.
- As reported by CoinDesk in December, BBVA sees Switzerland as having relatively comprehensive rules around digital assets, set out by the country’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
- Alfonso Gómez, CEO of BBVA Switzerland, said this is just a first step in a world that he believes will have a major impact on all financial services.