Spain’s BBVA Opening Bitcoin Trading Service to Private Banking Clients in Switzerland

Spanish banking giant BBVA is making its cryptocurrency trading and custody service available to private banking clients in Switzerland on Monday.

• BBVA said Friday that after six months of testing the service with a selected group of users, it is now making trading available to BBVA Switzerland clients. The entity will not be offering advice on these types of investments, however.
• This includes bitcoin trading and custody services with the aim of extending the services to other cryptocurrencies, the bank said.
• BBVA said the service will be available only to clients in Switzerland because of the country's clear regulations and the widespread adoption of digital assets.
• As reported by CoinDesk in December, BBVA sees Switzerland as having relatively comprehensive rules around digital assets, set out by the country’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
• Alfonso Gómez, CEO of BBVA Switzerland, said this is just a first step in a world that he believes will have a major impact on all financial services.

Read more: Spain’s Second-Largest Bank Will Soon Launch Crypto Services: Sources