Santander offers Bitcoin, ETH trading for Swiss account holders

The international arm of Spanish lender Banco Santander has rolled out a new service, allowing clients with Swiss accounts to invest in and trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

All clients of Santander Private Banking International’s Swiss private banking unit will have access to buy, sell and hold BTC and ETH, revealed a leaked internal communication that Cointelegraph independently verified from an official source.

While Santander’s rollout of the new crypto trading services will start with BTC and ETH only, the banking giant will introduce other cryptocurrencies following the clearance of its screening criteria over the next several months.

A Santander spokesperson confirmed that clients will get access to crypto investment services only after requesting it through relationship managers. “We are offering our clients a service they were demanding from us,” stated Antonio Docampo, deputy head of Santander Private Banking International in Switzerland.

Accredited investors that prove full compliance with local and international Know your customer and anti-money laundering   The bank will hold the private cryptographic keys of the tradable assets in a regulated custody model within “a secure environment.”

Santander caters to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals globally.

Related: DZ Bank, third-largest German bank, to start crypto custody for institutional investors

Commerzbank recently became the first “full-service” German bank to be granted a crypto custody license in the country under the legal framework of the German Banking Act.

The license allows the bank to offer custody of crypto assets and “further digital asset services” in the future.

“This highlights our ongoing commitment to applying the latest technologies and innovations, and it forms the foundation for supporting our customers in the areas of digital assets,” stated Jörg Oliveri del Castillo-Schulz, chief operating officer of Commerzbank.

The bank initially plans to establish a platform that is both “secure and reliable” and fully complies with local regulations.

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