Crypto Weekly: Crypto payments and custody set for launch

Crypto Weekly: Crypto payments and custody set for launch

Mads Eberhardt

Cryptocurrency Analyst

Summary:  Several leading international banks are close to launching their cryptocurrency custody solution. Furthermore, MasterCard is joining Visa in the race to include cryptocurrencies on their network, and the biggest decentralized exchange hit an all-time volume of $100 billion.


Leading banks with cryptocurrency custody in the pipeline

Over the past week, several leading banks have publicly announced their plans to offer custody for cryptocurrencies. The world’s largest custodian bank, BNY Mellon, announced its plans last week to launch a cryptocurrency custody solution for the larger cryptocurrencies. The offering is set to launch some time this year. BNY Mellon added that they might add prime brokerage later if their clients request it. The bank will be joining other well-known banks like JPMorgan, Citi, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank, who allegedly have cryptocurrency custody in their pipeline, also expected for launch in 2021. Whether they intend to add brokerage is unknown. Notably, JPMorgan has formerly been quite severe on cryptocurrencies. JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon called Bitcoin “a fraud” in late 2017. Late last year he was, however, more diplomatic when saying that Bitcoin is just not his cup of tea. The launch of crypto offerings at traditionally respected banks signals a broader adoption across the financial industry. Furthermore, it indicates that there is a demand for such services, which the traditional banks are most likely afraid of missing out on.

MasterCard is joining Visa

Last week, we wrote about Visa planning to launch a cryptocurrency product targeted banks, enabling them to facilitate cryptocurrency trading for their clients. MasterCard has now officially joined Visa in the race to launch a cryptocurrency offering. On a note on MasterCard’s website, they disclosed their plans to add selected cryptocurrencies to their network later this year. The plan is reportedly to allow the settlements of merchants in selected cryptocurrencies – allegedly predominantly in stablecoins. It is expected that MasterCard at least will include the second biggest stablecoin called USDC. USDC is also the stablecoin which Visa has sealed a partnership with to bring on their network. MasterCard added to their announcement that they work with several central banks to potentially add their digital currencies – known as CBDC’s - to their payment systems. It is quite significant for the crypto-market to have the two biggest payment processors respectively working on various offerings within cryptocurrencies.

Uniswap hits $100 billion in total volume

Yesterday, the biggest decentralized cryptocurrency exchange, Uniswap, hit an all-time volume of $100 billion. The volume for the past 24 hours on the exchange was slightly below $1 billion. Decentralized exchanges are often referred to as the key aspect of decentralized finance – known as DeFi. Speaking about Uniswap, the decentralized exchange was launched in late 2018 and is driven on the Ethereum-network, where traders are able to convert between Ethereum-based tokens. The most-traded tokens on Uniswap are often stablecoins against tokens like Chainlink, Wrapped Bitcoin, and WETH. Uniswap has contributed heavily to the surge in number of Ethereum transactions – and thereby, the fee for processing transactions on the network. Therefore, to some degree, Uniswap is currently a victim of its own success. The high transaction fees have left room for other decentralized exchanges on alternative chains. Especially, the chain from the world’s biggest centralized cryptocurrency exchange Binance, known as Binance Smart Chain has gained popularity over the past months for this purpose. The decentralized exchange on Binance Smart Chain called PancakeSwap is currently handling half the volume of Uniswap daily – but depending on how long it takes to fix the scalability on Ethereum with ETH 2.0, it will most likely overtake the daily volume of Uniswap in the foreseeable future.
BTC against USD. Source: CoinMarketCap.
ETH against USD. Source: CoinMarketCap.

Quarterly Outlook

01 /

  • Upending the global order at blinding speed

    Quarterly Outlook

    Upending the global order at blinding speed

    John J. Hardy

    Global Head of Macro Strategy

    We are witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime shredding of the global order. As the new order takes shape, ...
  • Equity outlook: The high cost of global fragmentation for US portfolios

    Quarterly Outlook

    Equity outlook: The high cost of global fragmentation for US portfolios

    Charu Chanana

    Chief Investment Strategist

  • Asset allocation outlook: From Magnificent 7 to Magnificent 2,645—diversification matters, now more than ever

    Quarterly Outlook

    Asset allocation outlook: From Magnificent 7 to Magnificent 2,645—diversification matters, now more than ever

    Jacob Falkencrone

    Global Head of Investment Strategy

  • Commodity Outlook: Commodities rally despite global uncertainty

    Quarterly Outlook

    Commodity Outlook: Commodities rally despite global uncertainty

    Ole Hansen

    Head of Commodity Strategy

  • Macro outlook: Trump 2.0: Can the US have its cake and eat it, too?

    Quarterly Outlook

    Macro outlook: Trump 2.0: Can the US have its cake and eat it, too?

    John J. Hardy

    Global Head of Macro Strategy

  • Equity Outlook: The ride just got rougher

    Quarterly Outlook

    Equity Outlook: The ride just got rougher

    Charu Chanana

    Chief Investment Strategist

  • China Outlook: The choice between retaliation or de-escalation

    Quarterly Outlook

    China Outlook: The choice between retaliation or de-escalation

    Charu Chanana

    Chief Investment Strategist

  • Commodity Outlook: A bumpy road ahead calls for diversification

    Quarterly Outlook

    Commodity Outlook: A bumpy road ahead calls for diversification

    Ole Hansen

    Head of Commodity Strategy

  • FX outlook: Tariffs drive USD strength, until...?

    Quarterly Outlook

    FX outlook: Tariffs drive USD strength, until...?

    John J. Hardy

    Global Head of Macro Strategy

  • Fixed Income Outlook: Bonds Hit Reset. A New Equilibrium Emerges

    Quarterly Outlook

    Fixed Income Outlook: Bonds Hit Reset. A New Equilibrium Emerges

    Althea Spinozzi

    Head of Fixed Income Strategy

Content disclaimer

The information on or via the website is provided to you by Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. (“Saxo Bank”) for educational and information purposes only. The information should not be construed as an offer or recommendation to enter into any transaction or any particular service, nor should the contents be construed as advice of any other kind, for example of a tax or legal nature.

All trading carries risk. Loses can exceed deposits on margin products. You should consider whether you understand how our products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Saxo Bank does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided and shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions or for any losses or damages resulting from the use of such information.

The content of this website represents marketing material and is not the result of financial analysis or research. It has therefore has not been prepared in accordance with directives designed to promote the independence of financial/investment research and is not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of the dissemination of financial/investment research.

Please refer to our full disclaimer and notification on non-independent investment research for more details.
- Notification on Non-Independent Investment Research (https://www.home.saxo/legal/niird/notification)
- Full disclaimer (https://www.home.saxo/en-ch/legal/disclaimer/saxo-disclaimer)

Saxo Bank (Schweiz) AG
The Circle 38
CH-8058
Zürich-Flughafen
Switzerland

Contact Saxo

Select region

Switzerland
Switzerland

All trading carries risk. Losses can exceed deposits on margin products. You should consider whether you understand how our products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. To help you understand the risks involved we have put together a general Risk Warning series of Key Information Documents (KIDs) highlighting the risks and rewards related to each product. The KIDs can be accessed within the trading platform. Please note that the full prospectus can be obtained free of charge from Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. or the issuer.

This website can be accessed worldwide however the information on the website is related to Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. All clients will directly engage with Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. and all client agreements will be entered into with Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. and thus governed by Swiss Law. 

The content of this website represents marketing material and has not been notified or submitted to any supervisory authority.

If you contact Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. or visit this website, you acknowledge and agree that any data that you transmit to Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., either through this website, by telephone or by any other means of communication (e.g. e-mail), may be collected or recorded and transferred to other Saxo Bank Group companies or third parties in Switzerland or abroad and may be stored or otherwise processed by them or Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. You release Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. from its obligations under Swiss banking and securities dealer secrecies and, to the extent permitted by law, data protection laws as well as other laws and obligations to protect privacy. Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. has implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect data from unauthorized processing and disclosure and applies appropriate safeguards to guarantee adequate protection of such data.

Apple, iPad and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.