Arab Bank Switzerland has teamed up with blockchain technology firm Taurus to offer its wealthy clients access to bitcoin and ethereum. The bank joins a growing list of established players joining forces with fintech firms to tap into cryptoassets.
The partnership says it will launch a “new range of digital asset services, including custody and brokerage” of the two largest cryptocurrencies by market share. It utilises the fintech’s “Taurus Protect” crypto storage platform.
The Arab Bank Switzerland is part of the Jordan-headquartered Arab Bank group.
Taurus has already established a partnership with Bank Vontobel with the so-called Digital Asset Vault. Gazprom bank Switzerland teamed up with financial software company Avaloq and crypto-storage specialist METACO to develop a similar service.
Earlier this year, Julius Baer announced it would enter the cryptoassets world with a partnership with crypto bank SEBA. Falcon Private Bank and digital bank Swissquote are also active in cryptoassets. Private bank Maerki Baumann is also seeking fintech partners to grow its crypto services.
In the meantime, crypto specialists SEBA and Sygnum have recently been awarded full banking and securities dealer licenses, while Bitcoin Suisse has made a similar application.
The Swiss financial regulator and lawmakers have indicated their willingness to set rules that incorporate cryptoassets into the financial sector.
