The Switzerland-based financial institution – Leonteq AG – announced it partnered with ICF BANK AG to introduce digital asset offerings to institutional investors as well as private clients in Germany and Austria. The initiative would grant investors exposure to 18 cryptocurrencies, including the leading ones, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
Leonteq Stretches out of Switzerland
Leonteq AG – a Swiss firm specializing in structured financial products – announced it would allow investors in Germany and Austria to operate with 18 cryptocurrencies. These include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ripple, Cardano, and more.
The fintech company further revealed that its partner is the Frankfurt-based institution – ICF BANK AG. Björn Geidel – Head of Crypto Offering at Leonteq – noted that the Swiss organization now covers nearly 76% of the total market capitalization of the asset class in the German and Austrian areas.
“We are proud to offer our clients such a broad underlying universe and unique investment opportunities in various themes within the crypto space such as decentralized finance, storage or blockchain technologies in a securitized format” – he added.
Björn Geidel, Source: Börse Social
In his turn, Sascha Rinno – a member of the ICF BANK’S Management Board – noted that the investors in the DACH region (Austria, Germany, and Switzerland) have been showing a growing appetite for digital assets operations. He asserted that the collaboration with Leonteq would be beneficial to those willing to join the crypto market:
“Through this cooperation with Leonteq, we are meeting the interest of both institutional investors as well as private investors in crypto assets. Leonteq is an established issuer that stands for excellence and quality in the field of structured certificates and crypto assets, and we are pleased to be working with them.”
Leonteq is a major fintech company headquartered in Zurich. It provides structured financial products as well as insurance products. The firm serves more than 50 markets and has reported over $140 billion in assets under management.
Swiss Banks Focus on Crypto
The cryptocurrency environment in Switzerland appears to be suitable for the local banks as some of them recently announced intentions to launch such services.
For example, back in May, the multinational investment bank – UBS Group – considered enabling its wealthy customers to digital asset investments later in 2021. However, the financial institution warned about the infamous volatility of the cryptocurrency sector and would allow clients to allocate a “very small portion” of their total wealth.
As CryptoPotatoreported a month ago, Sygnum Bank – another Swiss-based financial institution – revealed it would become the first bank to provide Ethereum 2.0 staking. The company explained that staking services are entirely integrated into its platform, highlighting increased security.
