UBS (UBS), with $6.6 trillion in assets under management (AUM), plans to begin allowing select private clients to buy bitcoin and ether, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the story, the decision to start offering crypto services stems from growing demand from its wealthy clients.
“As part of UBS’s digital asset strategy, we are actively monitoring developments and exploring 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 that supports digital assets.”
UBS had previously taken a cautious approach to cryptocurrencies, but may now be feeling the pressure from its Wall Street rivals, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley, which has expanded its financial services to include digital assets amid the friendlier regulatory regime in Washington, DC.
In November 2023, UBS made crypto-linked ETF trading available to wealthy clients in Hong Kong, joining competitors such as HSBC Holdings Plc. At the end of 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 of the state-owned Swiss Post, UBS tested payments between institutions on Ethereum.
