St. Galler Kantner Bank (SGKB), Switzerland's fifth largest cantonal bank, is offering its customers the opportunity to buy and trade cryptocurrencies, taking the country's digital asset adoption beyond wealthy customers. This is a movement to expand to include individual consumers.
Founded in 1868 and with 35 branches in the eastern part of the country, SGKB works with SEBA Bank, a FINMA-regulated digital asset specialist, allowing local banks to store Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). and assist in providing trading services. .
Christian Vieri, head of investment solutions at SEBA Bank, said the first customers will be the bank's wealth management customers, with retail customers coming next, as well as other coins and staking services. .
A number of Swiss banks are partnering up to offer cryptocurrencies to private customers and high-net-worth individuals. This trend is now moving towards including retail consumers across crypto-friendly countries.
“This is the first bank that we've entered with a clear focus on retail, and it's an example of the development we're seeing in Switzerland,” Bieri said in an interview. “This started a few years ago with asset management and private banking, but now we're seeing a lot of interest from retail banks as well.”
However, SEBA is not the first to promote retail cryptocurrency banking. Last month, regulated B2B cryptocurrency specialist Sygnum partnered with Zuger Kantonalbank for a mobile-based cryptocurrency offering.
Bieri said this is a rising tide for all boats. “But I think the market will be large enough to offer multiple products. And I think competition will help the market grow and help increase adoption.”
