BBVA Switzerland selects Metaco’s Harmonize to power digital asset operations
The Swiss arm of Spanish banking giant BBVA is migrating its digital asset operations to Harmonize, the digital asset custody and orchestration platform of Ripple-owned software company Metaco.
BBVA Switzerland taps Metaco for Harmonize
Launched in April 2021, Harmonize acts as an orchestration layer that enables institutional clients to integrate digital asset use cases such as DeFi, tokenisation, cryptocurrency custody and smart contract management into their existing infrastructure.
The Harmonize offering includes four sub-products, namely the self-custody solution Metaco Vaults; the order management system Metaco Trades; the smart contract management framework Metaco Tokens; and Metaco Flows, which connects clients to a network of sub-custodians.
Metaco will deploy and develop BBVA Switzerland’s digital assets offering via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model through a collaborative effort with its partner, the Swiss wealthtech Avaloq, which has owned a 10% stake in Metaco since 2018 and operates as a subsidiary of Japan’s NEC Corporation.
The Harmonize layer is currently fully integrated into Avaloq’s cryptocurrency assets platform and core banking system, which will ultimately now serve as the base layer for BBVA Switzerland’s digital asset operations.
As a private bank, BBVA Switzerland has made considerable headways in the emerging space of digital assets. In June 2021, it introduced cryptocurrency trading and custody services for its clients in Switzerland.
Alfonso Gómez, CEO of BBVA Switzerland, anticipates that its partnership with Metaco will afford its digital asset operations “more speed, efficiency and the highest standard of governance”, while also allowing the bank to “stay ahead of the market”.
BBVA Switzerland joins a growing list of institutional banks tapping Metaco for its Harmonize solution, including Germany’s DekaBank and Liechtenstein’s VP Bank earlier this year.
