Bitstamp, a Luxembourg-registered digital currency exchange, has partnered with Swiss bank, Dukascopy in order to make bitcoin (BTC) related transactions more accessible to investors.

Established in August 2011 in Slovenia, Bitstamp will be facilitating BTC transactions on behalf of Dukascopy bank, according to an announcement published (on January 25) on Bitstamp’s official website. Dukascopy’s clients will reportedly be able to transfer bitcoin to their accounts, convert them to USD, and then trade on Switzerland’s foreign exchange (FX) markets.

Customers will also have the option to transfer money from their Dukascopy account back to their cryptocurrency wallet. The transferred funds will be converted from fiat currency (USD) to BTC before being deposited in the user’s wallet.

In October 2018, Bitstamp was acquired by NXMH, a Brussels-based private equity and investment firm. Nejc Kodrič, Bitstamp’s CEO, did not provide any details about the acquisition, however he did mention that it was “an all cash deal” which was rumored to be around $400 million. Soon after the acquisition, Bitstamp’s management team revealed they were focusing their efforts towards “global expansion.”

Private Swiss Bank Falcon Supports “Direct Transfers Of Cryptocurrencies”

As CryptoGlobe reported recently, Falcon, another Swiss bank that first became involved with digital currencies in July 2017, announced (on January 21) it would be solidifying “its first-mover position in blockchain banking by introducing direct transfers of cryptocurrencies.” Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Falcon is a private banking institution with additional offices in London, Luxembourg, and Dubai.

In mid-2017, Falcon began providing a service that allowed its private and institutional clients to purchase and hold bitcoin. The service was offered through a partnership with Bitcoin Suisse AG, a licensed cryptocurrency broker and asset manager based in Zug (“Crypto Valley”). Support for bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH), and litecoin (LTC) was added a few months later.

In addition to supporting investments in major cryptocurrencies, Falcon now offers direct transfer of these four digital currencies “to and from segregated Falcon wallets.” The private bank also allows users to convert these cryptocurrencies to fiat money.

Vontobel Supports Crypto “Within The Traditional Banking Structure”

On January 14, Switzerland-headquartered investment bank, Vontobel introduced a custody solution for digital assets called “Digital Asset Vault.” The new offering allows “financial intermediaries” including “banks, asset managers and wealth managers” to provide their customers a platform for custody and trading of their digital assets “within the [traditional] banking structure.”

Notably, Vontobel pointed out that “until now, no traditional custodian in the market offered a solution that met the security standards required by financial intermediaries for the custody of digital assets and provided end-to-end services.” Vontobel’s crypto custody solution is based on Hardware Security Mode (HSM) technology, which is “integrated into its own banking infrastructure.”