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Maerki Baumann Bank Is The Second In Switzerland To Accept Funds From Cryptocurrency Operations

Swiss bank Maerki Baumann will become the second bank in Switzerland to accept money derived from cryptocurrency operations, including funds obtained through crypto mining and the receipt of payments for services rendered.

Maerki Baumann, a Zurich-based bank, to accept funds from cryptocurrency operations

The decision of the financial institution comes at a time when most local banks refuse to accept this type of digital assets and, in other countries, there are regulatory frameworks against cryptocurrency exchange platforms. These decisions confront the most critical position in the community that sees banks as actors outside the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

According to a report released on Monday, August 6th, the Zurich-based bank decided as a response to new market demands and the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies.

Maerki Baumann informed that it would not offer direct investment in cryptocurrency and other derivatives, as the bank does not recommend making substantial investments in cryptos or maintaining them in the long term due to cryptocurrencies market’s volatility.

In other regions, the banking system and the cryptocurrencies are not getting along as well as in Switzerland

The international banking and financial system face new challenges from the increased use of cryptocurrency. The decentralized nature of cryptos such as Bitcoin (BTC), among others, is rethinking the way users manage their own money without the involvement of intermediaries, and banks don’t like this.

For that reason mainstream banks and financial institutions refuse cryptocurrency. While in some regions of the world there exists openness, in some other areas, especially in South America, the doors remain closed for digital assets.

Some recent cases are, for example, the cessation of operations of the cryptocurrency exchange platform Buda in Colombia due to the company’s bank accounts closure by several mainstream banks.

However, fortunately, Switzerland shows a greater openness to cryptocurrencies, and, recently, the Zurich-based Maerki Baumann bank accepted cryptocurrency operations.

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Switzerland Considers Launching A State-Owned Cryptocurrency And Becoming A “Crypto Nation”

The Swiss government, through its executive body, the Federal Council, approved the admission of a request for a study establishing the feasibility, advantages, and challenges of a state-owned cryptocurrency, the e-franc or “Cryptofranc”. This request was made by Socialist Party MP Wermuth Cedric, back in March.

The viability of the e-franc or “Cryptofranc”, as it has been called, is one of the objectives of this study requested from the Federal Council by the Socialist deputy Wermuth Cedric, and which must be prepared by the Finance Minister, if approved by the lower house of the Swiss Parliament.

In the application, entitled “Establishing a report on the feasibility and challenges of creating a ‘Cryptofranc’,” Wermuth Cedric refers to the different states or central banks that are considering the possibility of creating electronic currencies, including the Bank of Sweden.

Cedric points out that this interest of the states has been inspired by the growing boom in means of payment and cryptocurrency and mentions several challenges around them, such as the “digital divide” between a minority that has access to them and a large majority that does not have access to their benefits.

He also mentions the volatility of the crypto market or the future of transactional infrastructure, among other challenges.

Switzerland takes big steps towards becoming a “Crypto Nation” by considering launching its own state-owned cryptocurrency

In its reply, the Federal Council notes that it is closely following the growing interest in cryptocurrency and the discussions on “Cryptofranc”.

The Council also reported on the creation of a working group including the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, which had been responsible for the guidelines governing the Initial Offers of Coins (ICO) within the country.

The Councillor in charge of the Council’s Finance Department, Ueli Maurer, is appointed for the analysis of the proposed request, although no deadlines are set for a presentation of the study on the Swiss state-owned cryptocurrency.

In January of this year, Johann Schneider-Ammann, an advisor to the Department of Economics, Education and Research, said he would like to see Switzerland as a “Crypto Nation” in 10 or 20 years’ time, although he later went back, acknowledging that it was a mistake to speak in such terms of the country and, in a very diplomatic manner, offered an alternative, namely, a “Blockchain Nation”.

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