- Cryptocurrency firms are scrambling to find institutions to bank with in the wake of the collapse of Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital.
- These companies have approached crypto-friendly Swiss banks and inundated them with requests for banking services, according to several industry insiders speaking to CNBC.
- One reason companies are looking to Swiss banks is the country’s regulation, which is welcoming cryptocurrency firms.
Switzerland has created what they call “Crypto Valley” in the Zug region.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Crypto firms are scrambling to find institutions to bank with following the collapse of Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital, two lenders that have been friendly to digital currency firms.
Some of these companies have approached crypto-friendly Swiss banks and inundated them with requests for banking services, according to several industry insiders speaking to CNBC.
Typically, the crypto industry struggles to access banking services from traditional lenders who don’t want to touch anything that doesn’t have a clear regulatory framework. This included blockchain and crypto firms, which had to turn to specialist banks instead.
But with two of the biggest lenders now out of the picture, along with the SVB, cryptocurrency firms have turned to Switzerland, which has been trying to market itself as a crypto hub with solid regulation.
“We were inundated with inquiries,” said a consultant at a Swiss private bank, who preferred to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The adviser said on Monday, following this month’s settlement of Silvergate and Signature Bank, the private lender had more inquiries than ever before in a single day.
“It’s just crazy,” said the consultant.
Dominic Castley, chief marketing officer at Sygnum, one of Switzerland’s largest banks focused on serving digital asset companies, said she’s seeing an influx of inquiries.
“Over the past few weeks, as current events in the banking industry have unfolded, we have seen a significant increase in onboarding requests from various international locations,” Castley said, adding that Sygnum’s location is in both Switzerland and Switzerland is also attractive for companies in Singapore.
Sygnum holds a Swiss banking license and a capital markets services license in Singapore, which puts it under the purview of regulators.
A Switzerland-based advisor to financial technology companies, who also preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the situation, said there had been “a lot more influx of US customers” into Swiss banks.
An executive at a European trading firm, meanwhile, said her company had seen “non-European based companies” making requests for new banking relationships. The executive, who wishes to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue, said those firms include crypto-focused hedge funds and venture capital firms.
Castley said that interest is “mainly coming from investors, asset managers and blockchain projects looking to diversify their crypto investments with a trusted Swiss partner like Sygnum Bank.”
Switzerland’s other major lender involved in the digital assets industry — SEBA Bank — did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by CNBC.
One reason companies are looking to Swiss banks is the country’s regulation, which welcomes cryptocurrency firms that need a stable operating environment.
The country has created what locals call “Crypto Valley” in the Zug region just outside of the Swiss capital Zurich, where digital currency startups and more established companies have settled.
In 2021, the government introduced regulation for companies using what is known as “distributed electronic ledger technology” or blockchain, which originated in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin but has since evolved.
Thierry Arys Ruiz, CEO of Switzerland-based blockchain firm AgAu.io, said Switzerland is “more stable” and there is “more certainty about the rules.”
The anonymous advisor to the Swiss private bank said companies are coming to Switzerland to be in a “safer jurisdiction” for crypto regulation.