UBS explores crypto trading for select private bank clients
UBS Group AG is assessing a plan to offer cryptocurrency trading to select private banking clients, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The Swiss bank is considering allowing a group of ultra‑high net worth clients in Switzerland to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) initially, with potential expansion to the Asia‑Pacific region and the United States at a later stage. The person said UBS is evaluating external partners for the initiative. The bank has not publicly confirmed the details.
UBS has been running multiple blockchain and tokenization pilots, including its uMINT tokenized U.S. dollar money market fund on Ethereum and a Swift‑UBS‑Chainlink trial for tokenized fund settlement, testing the migration of traditional fund products onto distributed ledger infrastructure ahead of any spot crypto trading service.
The bank has also advanced its payments initiatives, partnering with Ant International to pilot tokenized deposits for near real‑time cross‑border treasury movements via the UBS Digital Cash platform in Singapore. The pilot is designed to let Ant transfer liquidity across its Alipay+ network within minutes rather than days by recording bank deposit claims on permissioned ledgers, positioning tokenized bank money as a potential alternative to conventional correspondent banking rails with cutoff times.
Industry adoption accelerates
If implemented, UBS would follow U.S. peers that have expanded digital asset capabilities. JPMorgan is exploring crypto trading for institutional clients and already operates the JPM Coin system for on‑chain wholesale payments and collateral. Asset managers BlackRock and Fidelity have emerged as leading issuers of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, while Vanguard, historically a prominent crypto skeptic, reversed course in December 2025 to allow clients to trade crypto ETFs on its platform.
UBS oversaw approximately $4.7 trillion in wealth assets as of September 2025. A move into crypto trading would provide an internal on‑ramp for ultra‑high net worth portfolios. UBS has not commented publicly on the reported plans.
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