- St.Galler Kantonalbank teams up with SEBA Bank to provide cryptocurrency services.
- Plans are in place to extend digital asset adoption from wealth clients to retail customers.
- The initial focus is on Bitcoin and Ethereum, with plans for additional cryptos and staking services.
St.Galler Kantonalbank (SGKB), the fifth-largest cantonal bank in Switzerland, has joined the ranks of major banks offering cryptocurrency services. In a statement on Thursday, SGKB disclosed entering into a strategic partnership with SEBA Bank to provide its customers with crypto trading and custody options.
Under the alliance, SGKB will facilitate the trading and safekeeping of digital assets, with an initial focus on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). This SGKB-SEBA collaboration represents another significant stride in the growing trend of crypto adoption within the Swiss banking industry.
Furthermore, the service will be available to the bank’s wealth-management clients in the interim. However, the institution has plans to make it accessible to retail customers based on client demand. Besides, SGKB and SEBA Bank intend to introduce additional cryptocurrencies and staking services.
Head of Business to Business and Custody Solutions at SEBA Bank, Christian Bieri, confirmed this sentiment in an interview. In his words, “It’s the first bank with a clear retail focus that we have onboarded and an example of the development we are seeing in Switzerland.” Furthermore, he added that this started some years ago with wealth management and private banking, and “now we see a lot of interest as well from retail banks.”
On August 30, SEBA Bank received provisional approval from the region’s Securities and Futures Commission to offer virtual asset services. However, it is worth mentioning that SEBA Bank is not the only institution aiming to cater to retail customers. Early last month, a Swiss regulated digital asset bank, Sygnum, partnered with Zuger Kantonalbank, a cantonal bank based in Switzerland, to offer a mobile-based crypto service.
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