In January 2026, UBS officially opened direct trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum to select private banking clients in Switzerland.
The world’s largest wealth management firm, which oversees over $4.7 trillion in assets, has historically maintained a conservative stance toward cryptocurrency. In late 2021, when Bitcoin reached an all-time high, former chairman Axel Weber publicly stated, “Anonymous payments will not survive.”
The driving force behind this shift comes from customer demand and competitive pressure. Morgan Stanley has opened access to crypto funds for all wealth management clients by the end of 2025, no longer limiting it to high-risk-tolerance clients with assets above $1.5 million. JPMorgan allows certain clients to use BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF as collateral for loans. Even the last “anti-crypto fortress,” Vanguard, surrendered in December 2025, permitting clients to trade crypto ETFs.
UBS is currently evaluating custodial and execution partners, initially targeting a limited group of private banking clients in Switzerland, with potential future expansion to the Asia-Pacific and U.S. markets.
Switzerland: Leader in the Global Banking Cryptocurrency Transition
UBS’s entry completes Switzerland’s banking landscape for cryptocurrencies. Currently, around 20 banks in Switzerland offer crypto services—the highest number globally—followed by the United States (15) and Germany (12).
Behind this number is a tangible user base. After launching cryptocurrency services in 2024, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) and PostFinance together provided crypto trading access to over 2.5 million Swiss accounts.
PostFinance is a systemically important state-owned bank in Switzerland that opened 36,000 crypto custody accounts and processed over 565,000 transactions in its first year—figures that far exceed the "pilot phase."
Crypto Buyer Persona: Not What You Think
ZKB's Head of Digital Assets, Peter Hubli, acknowledged in an interview with The Big Whale that the bank originally expected crypto customers to be younger.
This was probably the biggest surprise of this launch. Like many others, we expected to attract a very young customer base—but it was completely different.
In reality, the average age of ZKB crypto buyers is between 30 and 50, predominantly male, and concentrated in private banking rather than retail banking.
An even more critical figure: over 40% of crypto custody customers had no prior portfolio at ZKB. Their cash had been sitting idle in their accounts. Crypto trading has activated a cohort of “sleeping funds” that would otherwise have generated no asset management revenue.
The crypto business is already profitable.
Financial reports from several Swiss banks show that cryptocurrency is no longer in the "proof of concept" phase:
Maerki Baumann generates over 20% of its bank profits from digital asset activities. Swissquote derives approximately 10% of its total revenue from crypto. Arab Bank Switzerland’s crypto assets account for only 5% of its AUM but contribute 7% of its net profit.
Although small in scale, its profit contribution is disproportionately high. The unit economics of crypto services are clearly superior to those of traditional banking.
Switzerland is not an exception, but a reflection of the global trend toward institutionalization.
The actions of Swiss banks align with the broader trend of institutional capital. A 2026 January survey by EY-Parthenon and Coinbase of over 350 institutional investors globally—including asset managers, family offices, and private banks—found that 73% plan to increase their crypto allocations in 2026, and 84% are already using or exploring stablecoins.
Custodial security and regulatory clarity remain the two top concerns for institutional investors. Switzerland holds a first-mover advantage in both areas: the Distributed Ledger Technology Act (DLT Act), passed in 2021, provides a legal framework, while bank-grade custodial providers such as Taurus and Sygnum offer the necessary infrastructure. Switzerland’s banking sector crypto adoption serves as a local exemplar of the global trend toward institutional entry.
OECD tax framework + FINMA licensing reform: Two tests of Switzerland’s advantages
The OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) will take effect on January 1, 2027, ending the era of tax opacity for crypto-assets. FINMA’s public consultation on its licensing reform concluded in February 2026 and will redefine rules for custody and stablecoins, with certain provisions aligning with the European MiCA framework.
Ilya Volkov, a board member of the Crypto Valley Association, warned that excessive "regulatory micromanagement" could erode Switzerland’s long-standing pragmatic advantages.
Author: Jakub Dziadkowiec; Translated by Shenchao TechFlow