Switzerland’s Post Office is set to onboard cryptocurrency trading through its banking arm PostFinance as user appetite for custody grows in the country. Some 2.7 million users that currently bank with PostFinance, the fifth largest bank in the country, are expected to be able to buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through an inhouse trading and custody service in the next two years. In correspondence with Cointelegraph, PostFinance spokesperson Dörte Horn confirmed that the executive board sees digital assets as a strategic growth area and will provide direct access to cryptocurrency markets through a proprietary service owned by PostFinance …

Switzerland took another step to clarify the roadmap for integrating central bank digital currencies (CBDC) into the current financial system. The Swiss National Bank (SNB), the country's central bank, completed the second phase of Project Helvetia with its partners by integrating wholesale CBDC into the existing back-office systems and processes of five banks, namely Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg and UBS. The Bank for International Settlements and Swiss financial infrastructure service provider SIX joined as partners of SNB in Project Helvetia Phase II, which took place during the fourth quarter of 2021. Envisioned as a multi-phase investigation on …

Blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), is not the right solution for a central bank digital currency, according to an economist at Switzerland’s central bank. Carlos Lenz, chief economist at the Swiss National Bank, argued that blockchain-based decentralization features are not efficient for a state-controlled digital currencies like a digital franc, German-language Swiss newspaper The Handelszeitung reported Thursday. The economist reportedly noted that there is a large number of technological opportunities for building a digital franc. “One could imagine a direct account with the National Bank. Not that we want to do that, but that would be …

The Bank for International Settlements and the Swiss National Bank and are exploring the benefits of implementing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, using blockchain technology. According to a Dec. 3 announcement, the BIS Innovation Hub Swiss Centre, or BISIH, has successfully completed two proofs-of-concept linking existing payment systems to a distributed ledger and settling tokenized assets with a wholesale CBDC. Known as “Project Helvetia,” the new initiative is a joint venture from the BISIH, the SNB and Switzerland’s top stock exchange, Six Group. The exchange stated that Project Helvetia explored the technological and legal feasibility of transferring digital …

This article will explore 2 questions: Has bitcoin bottomed yet? And, what does the aftermath of major bubbles bursting look like and its implications for price? Thursday, bitcoin had a relief rally in sympathy with most other commodities as the Swiss National Bank (SNB) de-pegged the Swiss Franc from the Euro. This was a surprise move by the SNB but was necessary as being pegged to the Euro has been killing the Franc as the Euro has been sinking against a strong dollar due to Eurozone economic malaise. A previous article written on this subject can be found here. There …