Vontobel Becomes First Swiss Bank to Offer a Regulated Crypto Custody Solution

On Monday (January 14th), highly respected private Swiss bank Vontobel announced the launch of a custody solution for digital assets called "Digital Asset Vault."

Here is how Vontobel announced the news on Twitter:

Vontobel Investment Banking proves its power of innovation with today’s launch of Digital Asset Vault, the first custody and execution solution for digital assets. #VontobelNews https://t.co/KW5JdRM6yM

— Vontobel (@Vontobel) January 14, 2019

Vontobel says in its press release that their new offering allows "financial intermediaries such as banks, asset managers and wealth managers" to "provide their clients with an end-to-end service offering for digital assets" via "a simple connection," and that this means "clients can issue instructions for the purchase, custody and transfer of digital assets easily and securely within the banking infrastructure – like with traditional asset classes."

Vontobel points out that "until now, no traditional custodian in the market offered a solution that met the security standards required by financial intermediaries for the custody of digital assets and provided end-to-end services." Their crypto custody solution is "based on Hardware Security Mode (HSM) technology and is integrated into its own banking infrastructure." It also claims that with the Digital Asset Vault it has become "the first bank in the world to offer the usual industry standards of quality within the established and regulated environment."

Here is Vontobel's list of features for their Digital Asset Vault:

• "Digital Asset Vault is an alternative for personally registering with providers of digital assets and the custody of the same. The holding of private keys is no longer required."
• "Clients can buy, sell or transfer digital assets by issuing instructions to their regular bank, with global and best execution."
• "A consolidated overview of traditional and digital assets and asset classes is included in the client’s statement of assets, thus providing a clearer list for tax purposes."

Roger Studer, the Head of Vontobel Investment Banking, had this to say:

"Digital Asset Vault represents the logical next step in the development of our range of services for digital assets. With our innovative strength and experience, we have thus closed the gap between existing and digital assets. By incorporating digital assets into our own banking infrastructure, we have also become the first provider to already meet the high standards required by financial intermediaries and their regulators."

Vontobel is "the third-largest provider of B2B services in Switzerland in the area of custody and execution, Vontobel currently supplies MiFID II-compliant services to over 100 banks and wealth managers, resulting in 12 million securities transactions per year."