BancaStato integrates Sygnum crypto trading into banking app
Swiss cantonal bank BancaStato is now offering regulated cryptocurrency trading directly within its existing digital applications, a move that demonstrates how traditional lenders can rapidly deploy digital asset services using turnkey infrastructure.
BancaStato, the cantonal bank serving Switzerland’s Italian-speaking Ticino region, now allows its customers to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Solana. The bank enabled these services by integrating digital asset bank Sygnum’s trading and custody capabilities directly into its existing Avaloq-powered web and mobile applications.
By connecting Sygnum’s application programming interface to the Avaloq software-as-a-service platform, BancaStato bypassed the need to build a separate order management system. This technical integration reduces operational complexity and establishes a clear template for other traditional lenders looking to offer digital assets without overhauling their core banking architecture.
Fritz Jost, Sygnum’s chief B2B officer, noted that BancaStato is the first bank on Avaloq’s software-as-a-service platform to deploy this specific configuration. He characterized the launch as a “significant step in the maturity and scalability of regulated digital asset infrastructure,” adding that such setups allow institutions to move from an initial decision to a live offering in months rather than years.
The rollout coincides with a critical shift in European regulation. In late June, Sygnum Europe AG obtained a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) license under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation from Liechtenstein’s Financial Market Authority. The license arrived just before the MiCA transitional period concluded on July 1.
This regulatory clarity enables Sygnum to expand its network of more than 25 financial institutions, a group that includes Societe Generale-FORGE, PostFinance, and VZ Depotbank. “This means European partner banks can plug into the same proven bank-to-bank infrastructure without going through the multi-year process of building and licensing their own crypto operations,” Jost said. While the partner banks retain responsibility for their own regulatory compliance, Sygnum supplies the underlying licensing, custody, and trading infrastructure.
