• Maerki Baumann & Co. AG has announced that it will expand its portfolio to include a number of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP.
• The analysis service WhaleAlert has observed several XRP transactions with more than 800 million XRP.

Maerki Baumann & Co AG is a privately managed Swiss bank that has been supporting the organization of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and Security Token Offerings (STOs) in the greater Zurich area for more than 11 years. Blockchain companies can also open an account with the bank to start their business activities directly from the Blockchain Hub in Zurich. The bank has now announced that it will expand its portfolio of services to include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and XRP.

From June 2020, the bank will start “the next phase of its crypto strategy” and will offer not only a custody service for the cryptocurrencies mentioned above, but also direct trading. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) of Switzerland recently granted Maerki Baumann approval for this.

The bank is thus pursuing its goal of beating traditional “private banking” with the new emerging world of digital assets such as BTC and XRP. Dr. Stephan A. Zwahlen, Chief Executive Officer, describes how this step will enable the bank to expand its portfolio and core business in key areas and to tap into new client segments:

By trading and custody of digital assets, we are not only opening up a new business segment, but also creating additional investment opportunities in our core business. This will benefit younger, technology-oriented client segments, as well as private clients and institutional investors who are looking for new opportunities for returns on digital assets or who want to diversify their portfolios more broadly.

The storage cryptocurrencies is solved via a multi-level security procedure to protect the assets from digital cyber attacks. Under Swiss law, the regulated bank fulfills all the requirements for secure innovative security solutions required by legal and regulatory provisions.

Most recently, Arab Bank and Sygnum Bank had also added XRP to their portfolio, thus giving Swiss investors the opportunity to buy XRP easily and without major detours. Maerki Baumann believes that cryptocurrencies are changing the financial world and that banks will play a decisive role in further adaptation.

800 million XRP worth $162 million moved

Data analytics service WhaleAlert observed four large XRP transactions totaling 800 million XRP worth $162 million. In the first transaction, 200 million XRP were transferred from the Ripple OTC Distribution Wallet to an unknown wallet.

The second, third and fourth transactions were also sent from the Ripple OTC Distribution Wallet to an unknown wallet. The community notes that this wallet has now become active for the first time in 2020. There was also speculation whether an institutional investor is preparing to sell XRP or whether the account movements have a different objective.

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