Falcon transforms Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether and Litecoin into "bankable" businesses.

On Monday (January 21st), Falcon, a Swiss private bank that for the first time was involved with cryptocurrencies in July 2017, announced that it was strengthening "its first-mover position in blockchain banking by introducing direct cryptocurrency transfers".

Falcon Private Bank ("Falcon") is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, with branches in Dubai, London and Luxembourg. On 12 July 2017, it began offering a service that allowed its private and institutional customers to buy and hold Bitcoin (BTC); this service was offered with the help of Bitcoin Suisse AG, an encrypted broker and asset manager established in 2013 and based in the city of Zug ("Crypto Valley").

Then, about a month later, on 16 August 2017, Falcon announced that it will expand this service from 22 August 2017 to include support for three other cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC).

And today, Falcon has launched support for two additional services:

• direct transfer of these four cryptocurrencies "to and from the segregated Falcon portfolios"; is
• conversion of these four cryptocurrencies into fiat currency.

Falcon says this makes "fully bankable blockchain assets". Customers are able to "place trading orders conveniently via e-banking or a dedicated relationship manager", with criptoassets, which are stored in their own cold room ", included in the portfolio declarations and tax declaration documents."

The Falcon Private Bank factsheet on its blockchain solutions states that there are three combinable services offered:

• "Direct investment in blockchain assets"
• "Direct transfer of blockchain assets"
• "Managing wealth from blockchain activities" (this means that Falcon "accepts wealth from blockchain assets converted into fiat currency")

Martin Keller, CEO of Falcon Private Bank, said:

"Falcon has once again taken the opportunity to demonstrate its experience as a market leader in the digital resource space by combining traditional private banking services with innovative financial solutions."

In July 2018, in an interview with Bloomberg, Stefan Bollhalder, Falcon's Chief Investment Officer, said:

"In areas that are new, big banks can not move as fast as smaller banks."

Featured Image Courtesy of Falcon Private Bank