Largest private bank LGT to offer direct Bitcoin and Ethereum investments

The Liechtenstein royal family-owned bank, LGT, now offers clients direct investments in Bitcoin and Ethereum while also providing custody services.

The private bank announcement stated that the services would first be available to its clients in Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

The bank is partnering with Swiss digital assets services provider SEBA Bank for this new product. SEBA is regulated in Switzerland and will be providing crypto brokerage and custodial services for these investments.

LGT says traditional investments processes will apply to its crypto investments

According to LGT, the move to offer crypto investment options is coming due to the increased demand for this investment class in recent years.

The bank continued by stating that it understands how tricky it could be for individuals to invest in these assets when they don’t have technical expertise.

CEO of LGT Bank, Roland Matt, said that the bank would look to uphold the highest security standard while also helping their clients access the crypto space.

In his words

“We worked intensively on this offering. Cryptocurrencies are still in a stage of dynamic development. LGT therefore first created the corresponding, necessary processes and framework for this type of investment.”

Eligible clients also have to be classified as professional clients or clients of an external asset manager. But there are plans to expand the scope of offering to other countries soon.

While it’s starting with BTC and ETH, the bank intends to add other digital assets with time. The processes and procedures applicable to traditional investments will also apply to clients.

SEBA’s role

The partnership with SEBA Bank is integral to the offering. SEBA has extensive experience in the crypto industry as it has worked with various companies in the field.

The CEO of SEBA Bank, Franz Bergmüller, when describing the competency of the bank, stated that

“As a licensed and FINMA-regulated Swiss bank with core competence in cryptocurrencies and digital assets, we enable banks and their clients to handle traditional and digital assets securely.”

Mathias Schütz, the crypto bank head of clients and tech solutions, stated that its partnership with LGT could allow it to add yield earning and staking options later. He added that 

“LGT is also seeing demand from relationship managers to expand the offering to Singapore and other locations.”

LGT is one of the largest wealth and investment managers in the world. The bank, which manages over $280 billion in assets, has global offices worldwide, with its headquarters in Liechtenstein.