Switzerland: Falcon bank the first to launch direct crypto transfers in the country

In July 2017, Falcon Private Bank said it had become the first Swiss private bank to offer bitcoin asset management, enabling clients to trade and store BTC. The International Business Times lauded the advance for cryptocurrency but maintained that digital wallets were still better. It looks like Falcon was listening: The bank announced on January 21 that it now offers direct transfer of select cryptocurrencies to and from segregated Falcon wallets.

To start, Falcon reportedly only supports four major cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC), the press release notes.

With the recent move, Falcon claims its has made blockchain assets “fully bankable,” with the select cryptos being included in the bank’s portfolio statements, as well as in tax reporting documents.

In the press release, the private bank also mentions its “proprietary custody solution” that it claims to provide secure storage of digital assets. Falcon’s custodial service has been audited and examined by third-party providers, the company stated. The bank also states that its crypto service is compliant with local Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer regulations.

Falcon Private Bank was first authorized to manage blockchain-based assets in July 2017, following approval from the Swiss Financial Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

In late December, FINMA published guidelines for their fintech license, with blockchain assets-related companies reportedly set to begin applying for the license starting from 2019.

Falcon is not the only Swiss bank interested in crypto asset management: Vontobel bank, the third-largest financial custody provider in Switzerland, just launched Digital Asset Vault, its new digital assets custodian solution, in mid-January. And last month, Gazprombank (Switzerland), a Swiss subsidiary of the Russian state-owned bank Gazprombank (JSC), announced its plans to develop cryptocurrency-linked bank services in 2019 for institutional clients, financial institutions, and “other corporate participants of the crypto-ecosystem.”

Traditional banks have been slow to offer wallets and crypto-related services. In February 2018, hopes were high that the Dutch financial service provider Rabobank would launch a cryptocurrency wallet tied to bank accounts. At the time, Rabobank had not made a firm decision to do so but was testing its “Rabobit” wallet to investigate both the risks associated with cryptocurrency and the demand for crypto-related services. Rabobank has made no comment on Rabobit since the initial announcement, and the Rabobit website is now defunct.

It looks like Switzerland is ahead of the curve when it comes to crypto banking. Cryptocurrency users disappointed by Rabobank might look to Falcon and hope that its wallet will prove to be a veritable “Swiss bank” of the cryptosphere.