Switzerland’s Zürcher Kantonalbank deploys new digital asset platform with Avaloq and Fireblocks
Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), the largest cantonal bank in Switzerland, has gone live with Avaloq’s digital asset platform to address the “growing market demand for trading and custody of digital assets”.
ZKB rolls out Avaloq digital asset platform
By integrating Avaloq’s turnkey solution into its core banking systems and digital channels, ZKB will now be able to offer clients the ability to trade, manage and store both traditional and digital assets through a single platform.
“This innovative offering bridges the gap between decentralized and traditional finance, providing our clients with secure access to trading and custody of digital assets,” comments Michael Rausch, project lead digital assets at ZKB.
Adding to this, Georges Roten, Avaloq’s managing director for Switzerland and Liechtenstein, urges traditional financial institutions to install “the right strategy and technology in place to seamlessly integrate digital assets into their existing range of services” to appease the market’s continued evolution.
The platform, which has been deployed via a cloud-based, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, leverages the digital asset custody and infrastructure capabilities of Avaloq partner and digital asset operations platform Fireblocks.
Active in the digital asset sector since 2018, Fireblocks previously collaborated with Metaco to develop a digital asset custody offering for BNP Paribas Securities Services in 2022.
Metaco, a software company owned by Ripple, later went on to extend its digital asset custody and orchestration platform Harmonize to the Swiss arm of Spanish banking giant BBVA in November last year.
