Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) — Spain’s second-largest bank — is set to offer Bitcoin (BTC) trading and custody services in Switzerland. According to a release issued on Friday, BBVA Switzerland will begin Bitcoin trading for all private banking clients interested in crypto assets from June 21. This initial crypto trading service isonly for Bitcoin but the bank says it has plans to extend its offering to other cryptocurrencies. However, BBVA says its crypto trading desk will not include any digital asset investment advisory services. As part of the announcement, BBVA Switzerland revealed that the Bitcoin trading service will form …

The Bank of France and the Swiss National Bank are teaming up with the Bank for International Settlements’ Innovation Hub to test a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) system dubbed “Project Jura.” According to a release by the Bank of France on Thursday, the Project Jura pilot study will also draw participation from a private consortium led by global service company Accenture. Other establishments in the private consortium include Credit Suisse, UBS, SIX Digital Exchange and R3. The experiment will reportedly use two wholesale CBDCs — one pegged to the euro and the other pegged to the Swiss franc. …

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has said it will be publishing a consultation paper aimed at banks reducing their risk of exposure to crypto. According to the Switzerland-based Bank of International Settlements, or BIS, the Basel Committee will publish the paper on crypto exposure this week following its decision to hold a public consultation on the matter. The announcement came during a Friday meeting, during which the committee also discussed the impact of the current pandemic on the banking system as well as any proposed policy initiatives: “While banks' exposures to cryptoassets are currently limited, the continued growth and …

Take a dystopian Switzerland, a young girl raised in the Alps, and a fascist cheese magnate, stir in a crowd-investment platform built on blockchain, and you have the independent film “Mad Heidi.” And really, how can you not invest in a film about a revolution to overthrow a government led by a fascist cheese magnate? The independent filmmakers behind “Mad Heidi,” Swissploitation Films, created blockchain-based financing platform Mad Invest as part of a broader strategy of keeping total control of all aspects of the project, from fundraising to distribution. The plan is to sell 4,000 shares in the film for …

Switzerland-based cryptocurrency bank Sygnum is launching custody and banking services for Internet Computer (ICP) utility tokens. Sygnum announced on Tuesday that ICP holders will be able to deposit their tokens with the bank’s institutional-grade segregated wallets. The firm said that it is the first bank to offer storage for ICP utility tokens, which debuted trading on May 11. In a second phase of rolling out ICP support, Sygnum plans to launch a suite of banking services for the token, including spot trading as well as options trading at a later date. The bank also expects to offer Sygnum Lombard loans …

UBS Group AG is exploring various ways to offer its wealthy clients the possibility of investing in digital assets, anonymous sources claim. A new report from BNN Bloomberg suggests that investment opportunities in crypto will remain limited to “a very small portion of the clients’ total wealth” due to concerns over the volatility of the cryptocurrency markets. Sources familiar with the Swiss firm’s plans suggest that investments in digital assets via third-party investment vehicles could be one of the options open to clients. None of the sources have agreed to be identified due to the private nature of UBS’ plans, …

New York-based exchange-traded product sponsor and asset manager WisdomTree is expanding its digital assets range with the launch of a new Ether (ETH) exchange-traded product on two European stock exchanges. Borse Xetra and Swiss stock exchange SIX have both listed WisdomTree’s ETP, which provides investors with exposure to the native currency of the Ethereum blockchain without having to hold the asset directly nor to interact with its blockchain infrastructure at all. WisdomTree presents the product as an offshoot of “traditional financial infrastructure and product structuring,” with the provision of institutional-grade storage solutions for investors that remove the need for dealing …

Europe’s second-largest insurance firm, AXA, has become Switzerland’s first all-line insurer to offer its customers the option to pay their bills with Bitcoin (BTC), facilitated through a collaboration with the established cryptocurrency broker Bitcoin Suisse. Bitcoin payments will be accepted for nearly all AXA products, except for life insurance due to regulatory barriers to the latter. AXA has cited the accelerated digital transformation of the global economy during the coronavirus pandemic as being a key factor in its choice to integrate cryptocurrency into its everyday operations. However, even back in 2019, the insurer notes it had conducted market research showing …

United States aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin has signed an agreement with SyncFab, a Silicon Valley distributed manufacturing platform, to streamline supplier capabilities across Switzerland, offering yet another tangible use case for blockchain technology. Under the new agreement, SyncFab will provide Lockheed Martin with direct access to its parts procurement and supply chain platform, which is built on top of the company's blockchain. The secure supplier intelligence platform connects Original Equipment Manufacturers, or OEMs, to Swissmem members, allowing OEMs to match with suppliers across Switzerland. The platform essentially works as a “matchmaker” between OEMs and subject matter experts, allowing …

European digital asset manager CoinShares continues to actively expand its physically backed cryptocurrency exchange-traded product offering with a new Litecoin (LTC) ETP. According to an announcement on Tuesday, CoinShares has launched its CoinShares Physical Litecoin. Listed under the ticker symbol LITE, each unit of the Litecoin ETP is backed with 0.2 LTC ($45) at launch, providing investors with passive exposure to the Litecoin network’s native asset. The new investment product will be initially listed on Switzerland’s regulated crypto exchange SIX Swiss Exchange with a base fee of 1.50%, CoinShares said. LITE is now listed on Bloomberg, with an opening price …

Switzerland's Financial Market Supervisory Authority, the country's principal financial regulator, has made an "unfavorable prognosis" regarding Bitcoin Suisse's application for a banking license. According to an official announcement on Wednesday, Bitcoin Suisse's current application is ineligible for approval on the grounds that "various elements that are relevant under licensing law make it unlikely that a license will be granted." As such, Bitcoin Suisse has decided to withdraw its application. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin Suisse CEO Arthur Vayloyan remained optimistic, stating that the firm still has "so many options on the table." He explained that the firm's reputation for cryptocurrency storage …

Switzerland’s crypto boom has entered another dimension with retailers rolling out Bitcoin (BTC) vouchers and gift cards. According to Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger, Manor — the country’s largest department store chain — is already selling Bitcoin voucher cards in 59 of its branches. Meanwhile, the retail giant Valora will begin selling BTC gift cards in its kiosks across the country starting April 1. Dubbed “Cryptonow,” the Bitcoin vouchers are from the stables of Värdex Suisse, a cryptocurrency financial services firm. Värdex is also a subsidiary of major Swiss crypto exchange Bitcoin Suisse. According to Simon Grylka, head of operations at Värdex, …