Bitcoin and banks

On July 12 the Switzerland-based private bank Falcon Group announced the bank will offer bitcoin asset management for their customers. Through a partnership with Bitcoin Suisse AG, the bank’s clients will be able to purchase and store the decentralized currency using their account funds.

Over the past few months, a few banks have been integrating bitcoin asset management into their banking platforms. In May, Norway’s largest online bank Skandiabanken announced bitcoin accounts for customers, and Fidelity Investment’s just revealed a collaboration with Coinbase that will offer digital asset management as well. Now Falcon Group will become the first Swiss private bank to provide blockchain asset management solutions for its clients. The financial institutions first feature service will allow customers to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin (XBT/BTC) through the bank.

Falcon Group is a well-known bank based in Zurich that manages CHF 14.6 billion in customer assets worldwide. The financial institution also has offices in Geneva, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and London.

The South African Reserve Bank has announced that it will trial cryptocurrency regulations. Loerien Gamaroff, CEO of Bankymoon, has revealed that his company has been selected as the first business to trial the new regulations.

South Africa is taking significant steps toward solidifying a regulatory framework for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has announced that it will begin to trial a number of regulations pertaining to virtual currencies.

South Africa has been among the slowest of the advanced economies to begin to develop a juridical apparatus for cryptocurrencies, garnering criticism for failing to embrace virtual currencies and blockchain technology sooner.

Loerien Gamaroff, CEO of blockchain services company Bankymoon, has revealed that his company will be the subject of a trial of SARB’s preliminary regulations. Gamaroff confirmed that he has had consistent contact with The South African Reserve Bank in discussing the regulatory sandbox, and has conducted several seminars pertaining to potential use cases for cryptocurrency within the South African economy. Gamaroff also revealed his involvement with government-directed research into alternative cryptocurrencies.