BancaStato Launches Regulated Crypto Trading with Sygnum and Avaloq

Quick Summary

BancaStato — Banca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino, the Swiss cantonal bank founded in 1915 — has launched regulated cryptocurrency trading for its clients in partnership with the digital asset banking group Sygnum. The bank has connected Sygnum's B2B API to its Avaloq core banking system, letting clients buy, hold and sell Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Solana (SOL) directly within its existing web and mobile banking apps.

How the service works

Rather than routing customers to a separate exchange, BancaStato has integrated Sygnum's regulated digital asset services into the same web and mobile banking channels its clients already use. Market orders can be placed by quantity or USD value. Because the setup runs on Sygnum's B2B API directly through Avaloq — with no separate Order Management System (OMS) — operational cost and complexity are reduced, and trading features can be adapted flexibly to support risk management.

• Four assets at launch: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Solana.
• Integrated experience: Buy, hold and sell inside existing e-banking and mobile apps.
• Institutional-grade custody: Client assets are safeguarded in Sygnum's multi-layer custody solution, held off-balance-sheet in full regulatory and legal compliance.

Who's involved

BancaStato is a Swiss cantonal bank serving the Canton of Ticino in southern Switzerland, founded in 1915, running its core banking and digital channels on the Avaloq platform in a software-as-a-service model. It joins Zuger Kantonalbank and more than 25 other banks and financial institutions on Sygnum's B2B platform, and is the first bank on Avaloq's SaaS environment to let clients buy, hold and sell crypto via API with Sygnum from within its e-banking platforms.

"We are proud to welcome BancaStato to our fast-growing B2B network, which illustrates the growing demand for Sygnum's regulated, API-driven digital asset services that integrate directly into existing core banking systems," says Fritz Jost, Sygnum Chief B2B Officer.

"Our seamless integration of traditional assets, investment solutions – and now digital assets – further enhances our group's future-ready offering. We are proud to partner with Sygnum Bank on this strategic initiative," says Dr Curzio De Gottardi, BancaStato Head of the Products and Services Division and Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board.

"We congratulate BancaStato on launching this new digital asset service with Sygnum, fully integrated into its Avaloq SaaS environment. This project highlights how strong integration allows banks to respond more quickly to new investor expectations, while keeping services on a unified platform," says Christian Haux, Managing Director for Switzerland and Liechtenstein at Avaloq.

Context

Sygnum says its partner-bank network now empowers over a third of the Swiss population to own digital assets. On 30 June 2026, Sygnum Europe received a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) licence under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) from Liechtenstein's Financial Market Authority, enabling EU banks to use Sygnum's infrastructure to reduce risk, time-to-market and capital requirements when launching regulated digital asset services.

FF NEWS TAKE:

A 110-year-old cantonal bank embedding regulated crypto trading directly into its core banking app — through Sygnum's API and Avaloq's platform, with no separate exchange or order management layer — is a clear signal that digital assets are moving into the trusted, regulated plumbing of traditional retail banking rather than sitting at the fringe.