While the love-hate dynamic among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, private clients, and wealth management practitioners remains as electrifying and polarizing as ever, the pendulum swung hard to the love camp in remarkable form during 2020, with bitcoin nearly quadrupling in value over the course of the year. Global regulators have taken note, and the Swiss FINMA, in particular, has found a window for innovative and future-oriented financial institutions to begin to integrate cryptocurrencies into their business models. Race to Mainstream Digital Assets: Switzerland in Pole Position, the latest Aite Group report, assesses the feasibility of broad-based cryptocurrency custody and trading services adoption in Switzerland.
“New platforms that can host traditional private banking and cryptocurrency assets will proliferate beyond the domain of crypto-focused banks,” states Wally Okby, senior analyst at Aite Group.
This Impact Report is primarily focused on the regulatory environment as well as each firm’s approach to integrating cryptocurrencies into its wealth management businesses, engagement approach, distribution model, product and technology platform, and operational structure. It is based on in-depth interviews during September and October 2020 with CEOs and executive managers from 11 Swiss private banks, two Swiss digital asset platforms, one of the world’s largest asset managers in the United States, and a Wyoming (U.S.)-based wealth manager.
