The crypto industry is growing in pretty much all ways imaginable. While some of its growth and milestones that it achieves along the way may often not be recognized, others definitely do attract an adequate amount of attention.

One example of this was just witnessed recently, as one of the largest banks in all of Europe announced that it will expand its crypto trading service offering by adding Ethereum (ETH/USD) to its portfolio.

BBVA Switzerland adds support for Ethereum

The bank in question is BBVA Switzerland, and this move represents a major addition to the financial institution. It will present an entirely new offer to its private clients, allowing them to also expand their portfolios by investing in the cryptocurrency industry’s second-largest asset. All that is required is for the bank’s customers to have a “New Gen” account open, and they will be allowed to add and sell both, Bitcoin and Ethereum, whenever they want.

The bank’s customers will be able to enjoy a highly simplified purchasing service. Not only that, but they will also be able to use the bank’s mobile app if they have it installed. Obviously, that means that the bank’s app will offer full support for digital currencies, and that all operations involving digital and traditional assets alike will be available on the users’ phones.

This will also allow traders to buy and sell cryptos on the go, with all supported coins being easily convertible to the EUR, USD, and pretty much any other fiat currency.

This makes BBCA Switzerland the first traditional banking institution in Europe to add Ethereum to its crypto offering, and finally take a step beyond supporting only Bitcoin. The bank’s officials revealed that the decision comes due to a major demand among its investors who are becoming more and more open to digital assets.

A growing interest in cryptocurrency

The bank’s decision to add custody service for crypto assets was welcomed extremely well by its clients. It shows that there are plenty of clients who are willing to manage their portfolios themselves and also diversify their holdings by using more volatile assets, despite the risks.

The bank published a statement in which it said that a big part of the demand for Ethereum, as well as digital currency offerings, in general, comes from people who are interested in gaining exposure to the service for diversification. However, it also said that this includes private and institutional investors, alike.

Institutions did develop a major taste for crypto, particularly over the last two years, since the COVID-19 pandemic caused a global meltdown for most other assets. Cryptocurrencies and gold were almost exclusively the only assets to thrive at first, and while the situation with traditional markets did improve since those days, the institutional interest in crypto did not disappear.

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