UBS (UBS), with $6.6 trillion in assets under management (AUM), plans to start allowing select private clients to buy bitcoin and ether, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The decision to start offering crypto services, according to the story, stems from a growing demand from its wealthy clients.
“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,” a UBS spokesperson told CoinDesk. “We recognize the importance of distributed ledger technology like blockchain, which underpins digital assets.”
UBS had previously taken a cautious approach to cryptocurrencies but might now be feeling the pressure from its competitors on Wall Street, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley, who have expanded their financial services to include digital assets amid the friendlier regulatory regime in Washington, D.C..
In November 2023, UBS made trading in crypto-linked ETFs available to wealthy clients in Hong Kong, joining competitors like HSBC Holdings Plc. Late last year, UBS completed the first onchain redemption of a tokenized fund using Chainlink’s Digital Transfer Agent. And with crypto banking specialist Sygnum and PostFinance, a subsidiary company of the state-owned Swiss Post, UBS tested payments between institutions on Ethereum.