ChainCatcher news, according to a survey conducted by the University of St. Gallen, mintminds, and vision&, 48% of Swiss banks are planning or have already implemented tokenization use cases. The proportion of banks accepting cryptocurrencies is even higher, reaching 64%. In addition to tokenization and cryptocurrencies, 58% of banks plan to develop other "advanced" blockchain application cases, such as trade finance or settlement.The 19 banks participating in the survey reached a consensus that the potential of blockchain will be realized within a two to five-year timeframe, and its impact will be greater after five years. However, after five years, only 37% of bankers believe that the impact of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) will be significant, while 63% consider its importance to be moderate. In the next two years, 11% of banks (all private banks) believe the impact will be significant.More than a quarter of banks have ten or more full-time employees dedicated to digital assets. An additional 21% of banks have two to five employees.

ChainCatcher news, according to DL News, the collapse of Swiss bank FlowBank, valued at $781 million, is causing a ripple effect in the cryptocurrency industry and threatening the existence of the stablecoin AEUR. This is because the Swiss company Anchored Coins AG, which issues the euro-pegged stablecoin AEUR, has deposited a portion of its $63 million euro stablecoin reserves in the troubled bank. According to a statement on the company's website, it has suspended the issuance and redemption of its tokens until further notice. The company has also stopped accepting new clients.Anchored Coins stated: "As the bankruptcy proceedings related to FlowBank SA's liquidation are still in the early stages, it is unclear how much of this portion of our collateral can be recovered. Therefore, if a shortfall occurs, the 1:1 redemption rate may not be maintained, which would result in corresponding losses for AEUR token holders." The company also mentioned, "In accordance with Swiss law, such losses will be proportionally distributed among all AEUR token holders."

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, European participants are working to revive the around-the-clock payment market for digital assets about a year and a half after the collapse of cryptocurrency-friendly banks in the United States. In recent weeks, two Swiss banks— AMINA Bank AG and Sygnum Bank AG —have launched real-time payment and settlement networks.They are targeting the market gap left by the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) and Signature Bank's Signet platform, both of which played a key role in bringing liquidity to the cryptocurrency market before their collapse in March 2023.According to company documents, in the quarter before their closure, SEN facilitated $117 billion in dollar transfers, while Signet processed $275.5 billion. For over a year, cryptocurrency players have been searching for alternatives. The AMINA payment network went live in June, followed by Sygnum Connect in July. These products offer a 24/7 network for instant trading of fiat currencies and crypto assets, with transfers between network members at no cost.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, cryptocurrency hardware wallet provider SafePal announced on Thursday a strategic investment in Swiss bank Fiat24, opening a banking gateway for users to pay fees with digital assets and transfer funds to other compliant banks.It is reported that the two companies have launched a Visa card focused on cryptocurrency and in-app banking services, with the USDC stablecoin pegged to the US dollar as the default deposit currency. Users can exchange their held tokens for USDC through Arbitrum. USDC can be stored as US dollars, euros, and Swiss francs for trading and spending. After completing the KYC and login process in the SafePal mobile wallet application for Fiat24, users can establish a personal, fully compliant bank account without paying any account creation or management fees.Additionally, after creating a bank account in the SafePal mobile wallet, credentials will be generated in the form of NFTs on the Ethereum-based Arbitrum network, ensuring that all related transactions are securely and transparently recorded on-chain. The crypto Visa card is also connected to third-party payment platforms such as PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay. This Visa card will initially launch in parts of Europe, followed by a rollout in other regions of continental Europe, while the in-app banking gateway will be launched outside the United States and in all non-U.S. sanctioned countries.

ChainCatcher news, Swiss bank Dufry has announced the launch of cryptocurrency lending services, providing cryptocurrency owners with the opportunity to obtain instant cash while retaining their crypto investments. Users will transfer cryptocurrencies from their blockchain wallets to Dufry's multi-currency account (MCA), where half will be converted into fiat currency and held in the MCA, while the other half will be transferred to a trading sub-account as collateral. At the same time, a long position in cryptocurrency will be automatically opened in the trading account at the current market price.Dufry Bank is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Swiss private bank Julius Baer is expanding its cryptocurrency wealth management services to Dubai.Julius Baer's Middle East subsidiary JBME stated in a press release that the company will immediately apply for a "digital asset license modification" based on its existing license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority, which will enable the company to arrange and provide consulting and custody services for digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, South Korean prosecutors are attempting to freeze $13 million in funds held by a Swiss bank related to Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon. Since Do Kwon's arrest in late March, tens of millions of dollars have been transferred from entities associated with the Terra project.Dan Sunghan, head of the Financial Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Seoul District Court, stated in an interview that $29 million worth of cryptocurrency was likely transferred by Do Kwon himself or under his direction. Do Kwon and his colleagues still hold over $13 million in funds at the Swiss Sygnum Bank, and South Korean prosecutors are trying to freeze these funds. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Digital Asset, the Seoul Prosecutor's Office in South Korea stated that Terra co-founder Do Kwon and Terraform Labs (TFL) have billions of Korean won remaining in their account at the Swiss virtual asset bank Sygnum. (Note: One billion won is approximately 748,000 USD)It is reported that on April 25, the Financial and Securities Crime Joint Investigation Team of the Southern District Prosecutor's Office in Seoul stated that they are continuing to track the Bitcoin owned by the Luna Foundation Guard, but some of it has been converted into cash and stored in the Signum account.In February of this year, according to Article 172 of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents, Do Kwon and his company Terraform Labs transferred over 10,000 BTC and converted it into cash through a Swiss bank. Since June 2022, the agency has withdrawn over 100 million USD in fiat currency from that Swiss bank. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, the cryptocurrency hedge fund Digital Asset Capital Management is seeking help from Swiss banks to fill the gap caused by the Silvergate banking system.Digital Asset Capital Management used Silvergate's around-the-clock real-time network to transfer funds to Coinbase, but exchanges like Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Gemini will no longer accept or initiate payments through Silvergate. Its co-founder Richard Galvin stated, "Finding a banking partner may take some time. We are in talks with some Swiss banks." Digital Asset Capital Management currently manages a $400 million cryptocurrency fund. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Bloomberg, since May of last year, Do Kwon and Terraform Labs Pte have been regularly transferring Bitcoin from their wallets, totaling over 10,000 Bitcoins, and converting some of the tokens into cash through a Swiss bank.Previously reported, the U.S. SEC accused Singapore-based Terraform Labs and Do Kwon of orchestrating a multi-billion dollar securities fraud involving algorithmic stablecoins and other crypto asset securities, violating registration and anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. (Source link)

Chain Catcher news, before the merge on the Ethereum network, Swiss cryptocurrency platform SEBA Bank has already provided Ethereum staking services for large clients. The bank stated in a press release that it allows its users to earn rewards on their held Ethereum on a monthly basis. It is reported that different lock-up periods can be set after the merge. However, before the Ethereum "Shanghai upgrade," no staked Ethereum can be withdrawn from the Ethereum beacon chain. Mathias Schutz, Head of Technology and Client Solutions at the bank, stated in the release: "Our launch of Ethereum staking services will enable institutional investors to play a key role in securing the future of the network." (Blockworks)