The international arm of Spanish bank Santander has reportedly launched a new service that allows customers with Swiss accounts to invest and trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
according to High-net-worth individuals from Santander Private Bank International will have access to trade BTC and ETH, according to a Coindesk report. Cointelegraph was unable to independently verify this development as Santander did not immediately respond to a request for comment at the time of writing.
Santander’s new cryptocurrency trading service will reportedly start with BTC and ETH only, but the banking giant will launch other cryptocurrencies once its screening criteria are approved.
According to reports, Santander launched BTC and ETH trading services at the request of customers through their account managers. Banks will hold the private keys to tradable assets in a regulated custody model.
related: Germany’s third largest bank DZ Bank will provide cryptocurrency custody services to institutional investors
Commerzbank recently became the first “full-service” German bank to obtain a German cryptocurrency custody license under the legal framework of German banking law.
The license allows the bank to offer crypto asset custody and “further digital asset services” in the future.
Jörg Oliveri del Castillo-Schulz, Chief Operating Officer of Commerzbank, said: “This underlines our ongoing commitment to applying the latest technologies and innovations and lays the foundation for our support of clients in the digital asset space.”
The bank initially planned to build a platform that was both “safe and secure” and fully compliant with local regulations.
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