BancaStato adds crypto trading through Sygnum and Avaloq
The Ticino cantonal bank will let clients buy, hold and sell four cryptocurrencies inside its existing web and mobile banking channels.
By Rafael Ortiz · Fintech Correspondent
· 3 min read
BancaStato has connected Sygnum’s business-to-business digital asset API to Avaloq’s core banking and digital banking systems, enabling clients to trade crypto assets through the Swiss bank’s existing web and mobile channels, Sygnum said. The Ticino cantonal bank joins more than 25 banks and international financial institutions using Sygnum’s B2B platform, extending the distribution of regulated crypto services through established banking interfaces.
Banca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino, founded in 1915, serves the Canton of Ticino in southern Switzerland. The bank runs Avaloq’s platform for core banking and digital channels under a software-as-a-service model, according to Sygnum.
Clients will be able to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Solana through BancaStato’s e-banking and mobile apps, Sygnum said. Market orders can be entered either by crypto quantity or by US dollar value.
How the integration works
The service uses Sygnum’s API to execute purchases and sales from within Avaloq’s systems. Sygnum said BancaStato is using the API without adding a separate order management system, a structure the digital asset bank said lowers operational complexity and reduces implementation risk.
In this model, the customer-facing journey remains inside the bank’s existing digital channels, while Sygnum provides the regulated digital asset infrastructure behind the transaction. The arrangement allows BancaStato to add crypto trading features without operating a separate crypto trading stack alongside its core banking environment.
Sygnum said client assets will be held in its institutional custody setup, which includes hardware and software controls, governance procedures and independent external audits. The company also said client assets are held off BancaStato’s balance sheet in regulatory and legal compliance, a structure intended to provide additional protection if a bankruptcy occurs.
Executives point to demand for bank-based access
Fritz Jost, Sygnum’s chief B2B officer, said the deal showed demand for regulated digital asset services that can be integrated into existing bank systems through APIs. He also said BancaStato is the first bank using Avaloq’s SaaS environment to offer buy, hold and sell crypto services through Sygnum’s API from inside its e-banking platforms.
Dr Curzio De Gottardi, head of BancaStato’s products and services division and vice-chairman of its executive board, said the bank was adding digital assets alongside traditional assets and investment solutions, and cited Sygnum’s crypto banking expertise and infrastructure as part of the partnership.
Christian Haux, Avaloq’s managing director for Switzerland and Liechtenstein, said the project showed how integration can help banks respond to investor expectations while keeping services on a single platform. He said BancaStato clients will be able to view and manage digital and traditional portfolios in one place.
Sygnum said BancaStato expands its B2B network in Ticino. The digital asset bank also said its partner banks already give more than a third of the Swiss population access to digital assets.
Separately, Sygnum said Sygnum Europe received a Crypto-Asset Service Provider licence on June 30, 2026, under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation from Liechtenstein’s Financial Market Authority. Sygnum said the licence enables EU banks to use its infrastructure when launching regulated digital asset services.
This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.