Banks and custodians that take crypto

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A private client needs three relationships: a bank for fiat, a custodian for tokens and, often, a bank that will do both. Switzerland is further ahead. Sygnum and AMINA hold banking licences and offer custody, trading, staking and Lombard lending against the main tokens. Zürcher Kantonalbank, PostFinance, Luzerner Kantonalbank, Swissquote, Maerki Baumann, Julius Baer and several other established banks offer custody and trading of a selected list of tokens to their clients, some through Sygnum's or Crypto Finance's business-to-business platforms.¹ Private banks in Geneva and Zürich that do not offer custody themselves increasingly accept clients whose wealth derives from digital assets and refer the custody to a partner. A Swiss private client with CHF 10 million in tokens can, in 2026, hold them at a Swiss bank with the same statement, the same adviser and the same insolvency protection under Art. 16 BankA as their securities.²

Singapore's banks have been more cautious. DBS offers trading and custody through DBS Digital Exchange to accredited investors and corporate clients. OCBC and UOB have stayed away from direct custody for private clients, while Standard Chartered operates custody through Zodia Custody for institutional clients.³ A Singapore-resident private client therefore holds tokens either with the Singapore-licensed arm of a global exchange (Coinbase, Crypto.com, Gemini, OKX, each holding an MPI licence), with a Singapore-licensed specialist custodian, or with a Swiss bank. The last option is common among the wealthier families and is one of the reasons Singapore family offices have Zürich and Geneva relationships. The reverse flow, a Swiss family using a Singapore custodian, is rarer and driven by Asian operating needs.

Notes

Sygnum Bank AG and AMINA Bank AG (formerly SEBA Bank AG), FINMA banking licences granted 26 August 2019; Zürcher Kantonalbank, media release of 4 September 2024 (launch of cryptocurrency trading and custody for retail clients); PostFinance, media release of 21 February 2024 (crypto trading via Sygnum). Part C, Chapter III, and Part A, Chapter III. ↩
Banking Act, SR 952.0, Art. 16 no. 1bis (crypto-based assets held for clients are segregated in the bank's bankruptcy if individually allocated or collectively held and readily attributable); FINMA Guidance 06/2024 of 26 July 2024 (confirming the deposit characterisation of claims against stablecoin issuers and the segregation framework). Part D, Chapter IV. ↩
DBS Bank, media releases on DBS Digital Exchange (launch December 2020; extension to accredited investors September 2022); Standard Chartered, Zodia Custody launches in Singapore. Part I, Chapter IV. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC

I am Of Counsel with KGP Legal LLC in Singapore, where I work with a global client base of successful entrepreneurs and their families, independent asset managers, commodity trading houses and other commercial clients. I am a German and Swiss attorney-at-law, also admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and in Hong Kong. I divide my time between Zug in Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Since 2017 I have advised international clients on more than 700 crypto and digital asset projects. I also have extensive experience in cross-border litigation and arbitration in Singapore, Hong Kong and other markets in South-East Asia and Greater China.

I operate across the key financial centres in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Switzerland, with a particular focus on asset protection, international tax and estate planning, as well as trusts, company administration and other fiduciary services. My philosophy is to serve as a trusted advisor working closely with my clients and to help them achieve their commercial objectives.

All Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC, an established and duly licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors.

KGP Legal LLC is a medium-sized law firm in Singapore that is capable of providing the full range of legal services and corporate administration work. Please contact me directly at [email protected] if you need any further information.

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SingaporeIQ is edited by Dr Alexander Ressos, an international business lawyer with more than 15 years of local experience in Singapore as a permanent resident, a Singapore registered foreign lawyer and managing partner of a Singapore foreign law practice. In addition to significant experience in cross-border investments and transactions, UHNWI private client work and sanctions/export controls, Dr Ressos has extensive experience in cross-border business and in crypto and digital-asset projects in Singapore, drawn from more than 700 projects since 2017.

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