- UBS is weighing giving clients in its $4.7 trillion private banking division access to digital assets, starting with Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- The Swiss bank had made a similar announcement four years ago, but the collapse of FTX and the resulting implosion forced it to put those plans on hold.
Swiss banking giant UBS is considering launching Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services for clients of its private banking division, sources with knowledge of the matter have revealed.
According to the sources, whose identity was withheld as the matter hasn’t been made public, the Zurich-based lender is in the process of identifying partners for the proposed digital asset business. It has been vetting interested parties for months, but has yet to make its final decision.
UBS has a wide range of crypto infrastructure providers to choose from, some of whom have similar partnerships with regional and global lenders. Last July, American bank PNC announced a new partnership with Coinbase under which its clients can buy, sell, and hold crypto directly on its platform. As we have reported, PNC has been a digital asset fan for years and holds the Solana and Bitcoin ETFs.
UBS could also partner with Zerohash, an American crypto infrastructure provider that announced a new partnership with Morgan Stanley to enable crypto trading on the E*Trade app, as we reported last year. The Swiss bank declined to comment on the reports. However, it said that it keeps exploring any technology that can benefit its clients. In a note to media outlets, a spokesperson for the lender stated:
“As part of UBS’s digital asset strategy, we actively monitor developments and explore initiatives that reflect client needs, regulatory developments, market trends and robust risk controls.
We recognize the importance of distributed ledger technology like blockchain, which underpins digital assets.”
Can UBS’s $7 Trillion Assets Revitalize the Crypto Market?
According to the insiders, UBS only intends to give crypto access to clients in its private banking division. Swiss banks have been renowned for centuries as one of the safest havens for high-net-worth individuals, and with UBS being the largest bank in the country, its private banking sector boasts one of the most prestigious client lists. As of September last year, this division held $4.7 trillion in assets; the asset management division holds another $2.2 trillion.
It would not be the first time the bank has explored digital assets. Back in 2021, the bank was reported to be exploring a similar product, but it aimed to limit exposure due to the extreme market volatility in the crypto sector. However, these plans were shelved after, later that year, FTX collapsed, taking dozens of other leading crypto firms with it and sinking hundreds of billions of dollars.
But while the bank has backed digital assets and blockchain technology, its CEO, Sergio Ermotti, is not as optimistic. In an interview earlier this week on the sidelines of DAVOS 2026, he expressed skepticism over digital assets as mainstream investment options. He told CNBC:
“Do you think the tokenized world is safe? What I’m hearing is that the potential effect of quantum computing on the safety of this kind of asset needs to be proven.”
However, this criticism is quickly losing steam as most crypto projects are now working on post-quantum computing cryptography. Some, like XRPL, Aptos, and IOTA, have already deployed quantum-resistant signatures, as we have reported, and many more projects are set to introduce similar programs later this year.
Meanwhile, BTC trades at $89,400 at press time, while Ethereum trades just below $3,000. Both have traded sideways in the past day amid notable drops in their trading activities.
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