Gazprombank Switzerland, a subsidiary of one of the largest banks in Russia, has piloted its Bitcoin (BTC) transaction service following regulatory approval by Swiss regulators.
It has been reported that Gazprombank will provide its new cryptocurrency solution in collaboration with its long-running partners like fintech firm Avaloq and crypto custody provider Metaco.
However, Roman Abdulin, the CEO of Gazprombank Switzerland, said that the new service intends to make crypto transactions “as easy as transactions with traditional assets.”
He added:
“Digital assets will become increasingly important for our clients and the global economy. We are pleased to work together with leading Swiss-based entities on the further development of the Swiss and global crypto and blockchain ecosystem.”
The report said that in conjunction with debuting its first BTC transactions, Gazprombank Switzerland also announced that the bank has joined OpenVASP, a major industry association, focused on regulatory compliance for virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
Russia-based Gazprombank is turning to Bitcoin. The large bank finally received approval to operate a #BTC service in Switzerland after lobbying since 2018. Who is opening a Swiss Bank account this week? https://t.co/6JTtBXrvNf — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) November 24, 2020
Likewise, OpenVASP (launched in late 2019) intends to help VASPs in complying with the so-called “travel rule” Anti-Money Laundering regulation introduced by the Financial Action Task Force.
Gazprombank Switzerland is the first banking institution to join OpenVASP alongside major industry firms like Swiss crypto broker Bitcoin Suisse and local crypto bank Sygnum.
As per the report, the latest news from Gazprombank Switzerland comes shortly after the bank scored approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority to offer crypto custody and trading services to its institutional and corporate clients in late October 2020.
Fully owned by Russia-based Gazprombank, Gazprombank Switzerland has been preparing to launch crypto services in Switzerland since at least 2018.
Thus, Russian lawmakers keep introducing more limits to the crypto industry.
Source: Cointelegraph