Zurich-based Gazprombank, a subsidiary of Russia’s third-largest bank, has been approved by Switzerland’s financial regulator to offer a number of cryptocurrency services, including the buying, selling, trading, and custody of bitcoin.
Gazprombank Approved to Offer Bitcoin Services
Gazprombank (Switzerland) Ltd. announced Thursday that it has received authorization from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to provide cryptocurrency services. The Zurich-based bank is wholly owned by Russian Gazprombank. The parent company is the third-largest bank in Russia as well as the third-largest in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of equity, according to the bank’s website.
A fully licensed Swiss financial institution, Gazprombank (Switzerland) provides traditional banking products and services to its corporate and institutional customers.
With the new approval, the bank will begin offering its clients “custody of cryptocurrencies as well as trading between crypto and fiat currencies.” The bank added that initially it will provide these services to a limited number of selected clients, elaborating:
The new services will include institutional-grade storage solutions and the purchase and sale of bitcoin. Gazprombank plans to gradually expand the offering to include additional cryptocurrencies and other products and services.
“The clients get access to cryptocurrency liquidity, while the safekeeping of the cryptocurrencies is taken care of by a Swiss regulated bank. Furthermore, the counterparty risk is limited,” the announcement outlines, detailing the benefits of the new crypto offering, adding:
We expect digital assets to become increasingly important in the global economy and, in particular, for our current and potential clientele.
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