Santander Private Banking International Offers Crypto Trading for High-Net-Worth Clients in Switzerland

According to CoinDesk, Santander Private Banking International, a division of Spanish financial services giant Banco Santander, is now offering high-net-worth clients in Switzerland the ability to trade and invest in major cryptocurrencies bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). An internal announcement revealed that the bank plans to offer additional cryptocurrencies that meet its screening criteria over the next several months. The service is provided only upon client request through relationship managers, and the assets are held in a regulated custody model where the bank stores the private cryptographic keys in a secure environment. This move is considered bold, as most large banks tend to focus on tokenization and avoid exposure to open-access blockchains and the cryptocurrencies that operate on them. Banco Santander, which is over 160 years old, has 166 million customers. Its private bank serves 210,000 wealthy clients, with assets and deposits totaling approximately $315 billion. John Whelan, head of crypto and digital assets at Santander, stated in an email that Swiss regulation related to digital assets is among the first and most advanced in the world, providing clarity and a comprehensive regulatory environment for clients. He added that as holding crypto as an alternative asset class continues to grow, clients are likely to prefer relying on their existing financial institutions to manage their assets.