PostFinance has partnered with local cryptocurrency bank Sygnum to broaden its offering of regulated digital asset banking services.
2.5 Million Customers Will Be Introduced To Crypto Through PostFinance’s Partnership
As a result of this collaboration, PostFinance’s clients will be able to purchase, store, and trade popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether, meeting their rising demand for digital assets. To put it numerically, this cooperation will expose 2.5 million people to cryptocurrency.
An important step has been taken in the acceptance of cryptocurrencies by conventional banks with PostFinance’s entry into the market. The bank is a division of Swiss Post, which provides financial services in Switzerland.
Sygnum’s institutional B2B offering gives banks access to the market for regulated and compliant digital products. It supports more than 15 partner banks and a wide range of cryptocurrencies, as well as crypto staking, which is a well-liked method for people to use their cryptocurrency holdings to generate passive income.
The pro-crypto position of PostFinance is clear from its earlier initiatives, such as developing its own crypto custody platform and launching digital collectibles that will be paired with real stamps in 2021.
Following the announcement of its cryptocurrency trading services, PostFinance’s parent company Swiss Post also disclosed the impending release of Crypto Stamp 3.0, which will feature physical and NFT version stamps equipped with artificial intelligence technology. Beginning on May 2, 2023, customers will be able to acquire this upgraded version of the crypto stamp.
According to Philipp Merkt, Chief Investment Officer at PostFinance,
« Digital assets have become an integral part of the financial world, and our customers want access to this market at PostFinance, their trusted principal bank, » and « A reputable and established partner like Sygnum Bank with an excellent service offering is more important than ever. »
Fritz Jost, Chief B2B Officer of Sygnum Bank, claims that PostFinance’s entry into the cryptocurrency market was prompted, in part, by the transfer of cash from conventional Swiss retail banks into digital assets.
This is an expanding tendency among ordinary investors to diversify their investment portfolios by incorporating cryptocurrency. A big step has been taken towards the general acceptance of digital assets by conventional financial institutions with PostFinance’s foray into the crypto market.
In an interview, Jost emphasized the significance of this alliance by stating that « PostFinance became aware of a considerable number in the hundreds of millions each year of outflows to crypto exchanges and the like. » They noticed that this had a lot to do with customer retention and viewed it as a chance to establish additional revenue streams as well.
The crypto services offered by PostFinance will let users invest in cryptocurrencies and profit from any prospective profits or losses. Investors may find this newfound freedom exhilarating, but care is advised because the cryptocurrency market may be quite unpredictable.
Major Institutions’ Acceptance of Crypto Will Speed Up Adoption
The recent decision by PostFinance to provide bitcoin trading and storage services to its 2.5 million clients is a significant step that might quicken the adoption rate among traditional financial consumers. The adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based technologies by the general public has advanced significantly as a result of this decision by the Swiss government-owned retail bank.
Due to the current banking crisis, traditional investors are increasingly diversifying their portfolios with cryptocurrencies to protect their holdings from market volatility. Additionally, as investors look for alternatives to earn a higher return on their investments, rising interest rates have encouraged them to investigate cryptocurrencies.
The recent decision by PostFinance to make bitcoin trading and storage services available to its 2.5 million clients is a significant step that might quicken the adoption of cryptocurrency among consumers of traditional banking.
The adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based technologies by the general public has advanced significantly as a result of this decision by the Swiss government-owned retail bank. However, PostFinance is not the only organization that has seen widespread adoption of digital assets.
S&P Global is actively looking for a DeFi director who will be in charge of advancing the business’s entry into the decentralized finance industry. This action is a sign of how traditional financial institutions are becoming more interested in blockchain-based technology and cryptocurrencies.
To accommodate the growing institutional interest in and demand for cryptocurrency services, Nasdaq also intends to introduce its much anticipated crypto custody service by the end of the second quarter. This action by Nasdaq demonstrates the rising need for dependable and secure crypto custody solutions.
Additionally, institutional investors are becoming more interested in digital assets. 91% of BNY Mellon’s institutional investors indicated an interest in investing in digital assets in a study the bank conducted in October. Tokenization, according to 97% of respondents, « will revolutionize asset management » and be « good for the industry. »
It is important to note that some of the biggest businesses in the world already use cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. A study by blockchain adoption analytics platform Blockdata found that 44 of the top 100 public firms by market capitalization across six key industries are actively using blockchain technology right now.
The fact that traditional financial institutions are showing an increasing amount of interest in and acceptance of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based technology suggests that the cryptocurrency sector is here to stay. The future of digital assets appears promising as more businesses and financial institutions enter the market.
CBDCs Will Make Crypto More Accessible
Blockchain technology, in the opinion of Citi analysts, is close to reaching an inflection point that will result in billions of users and trillions of dollars in value. The next wave of cryptocurrency adoption, according to Citi’s analysis titled « Money, Tokens, and Games: Blockchain’s Next Billion Users and Trillions in Value, » will be fueled by the introduction of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the tokenization of physical assets.
CBDCs are virtual alternatives to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are tied to fiat money and governed by the central bank producing them, such the Federal Reserve or the Bank of England.
According to the paper, CBDCs might see $5 trillion in economic activity by the end of the decade, mostly as a result of their advantages as an interoperable payment method and the overall enthusiasm from developing nations.
They predict that tokenization will become the « killer use case » for blockchain technology by 2030, increasing by a ratio of 80x in private markets and reaching up to roughly $4 trillion in value.
Regardless of the many benefits of these emerging technologies, there are still a number of obvious obstacles to be overcome, such as regulatory clarity and resistance from those in the financial industry who run the risk of becoming obsolete as a result of the loss of middlemen these technologies bring about.
