Santander Private Bank Introduces Crypto Trading for Swiss Clients

Santander has made this move while most big banks limit their exposure to decentralized blockchains and the cryptocurrencies running on them. Santander Private Banking International has announced plans to allow its high-net-worth Swiss clients a chance to trade crypto assets. The bank will offer these clients a chance to buy, sell, and hold two major cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). It also plans to add further cryptocurrencies that meet its criteria. According to the banking giant, the service will be provided based on client requests through relationship managers.…

Santander Private Bank Introduces Bitcoin, Ethereum Trading for Swiss Clients

“The Swiss regulation related to digital assets is one of the first and most advanced in the world, since it provides clarity and a comprehensive regulatory environment for our clients,” said John Whelan, head of crypto and digital assets at Santander, in an email. “As holding of crypto as an alternative asset class continues to expand, we expect that our clients prefer to rely on their existing financial institutions to be responsible for their assets.” Source

Mastercard See No Justification for Central Bank Digital Currencies Yet: CNBC

The payments giant has a CBDC Partner Program that includes participants such as Ripple, Fireblocks and Consensys. The move was designed to encourage conversations among key players in the industry, but was seen as a way for Mastercard (MA) to deepen its involvement with CBDC developments as the number of nations exploring the technology grows. As many as 130 countries, representing 98% of global gross domestic product, are exploring a CBDC, according to the Atlantic Council. In May 2020, only 35 countries were considering one. Still, only 11 countries have…

Singapore central bank to trial live wholesale CBDC for settlements

A pilot program for a live Singapore dollar-based central bank digital currency (CBDC) was unveiled by Singapore’s central bank with a wholesale CBDC to be used by local banks for settlements.  “I am pleased to announce that MAS will pilot the ‘live’ issuance of wholesale CBDCs to instantaneously settle payments across commercial banks,” MAS Managing Director Ravi Menon said on Nov. 16 at the Singapore Fintech Festival. The MAS had previously only simulated the issuance of a CBDC in test environments, Menon said the central bank would soon partner with…

IMF Prepares Central Bank Digital Currency Handbook

“If appropriately designed, CBDC has the potential to improve payment systems and support a role for central bank money even as other digital payment solutions proliferate. But the appropriateness of CBDC will vary with country circumstances. Given the complexities and the novelty involved, policymakers need to explore CBDC carefully and systematically,” the IMF paper said. Source

National Bank of Kazakhstan Starts CBDC Pilot, Makes First Digital Tenge Retail Payment

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