Swiss Bank InCore Enables Euro On-Ramp for Crypto Exchange Kraken
Switzerland’s InCore Bank AG has become the first financial institution in the country to offer banking services to Kraken clients.
Announced Thursday, the move means clients located in the EU will be able to fund their accounts using Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) deposits – the payment integration project the EU designed to simplify euro bank transfers.
The companies said the move comes at a time when institutions and traders are seeking alternative sources of capital value during an “uncertain macroeconomic climate.”
Rudy Suter, a strategy consultant for digital assets at InCore Bank, said the bank's new strategy is based on three pillars: cryptocurrencies, tokenization and blockchain applications.
“As digital assets, cryptocurrencies are a valuable addition to modern asset management and will be indispensable as a payment and investment value in the future,” said Mark Dambacher, InCore’s CEO in a statement.
The companies plan to enable deposits in British Pounds (GBP), Swiss Francs (CHF) and Canadian dollars (CAD) in Q3 2020.
According to a recent study by research firm Finery Tech, Kraken possesses the deepest bitcoin to euro liquidity in Europe as of June 2020.
InCore Bank AG is the 209th-largest bank in Switzerland in terms of total assets under management.
Kraken is rated the 10th-largest crypto exchange in the world by trade volume, according to data analytics website Nomics.
Last month Kraken extended its services to Australia, enabling local clients to fund their accounts in Australian dollars (AUD).
See also: $103M Bailout Denied for Coronavirus-Hit Firms in Switzerland’s ‘Crypto Valley’
