Setting Up for Crypto - Pedro Hubli & Michael Rausch (ZKB)

Zürcher Kantonalbank is Switzerland’s 2nd (or 3rd…) largest bank by balance sheet. One year ago it launched a crypto service offering with much fanfare.Now in an exclusive session, RULEMATCH Spot On host Ian Simpson sat down with two of the main persons responsible for the launch of ZKB’s crypto services - Head Digital Assets Solutions Pedro Hubli and Product Manager Digital Assets Michael Rausch.They dove into the backstory of the bank’s move into crypto, how being a state-owned, AAA-rated bank influenced what (and how) ZKB implemented its offering.Plus - Pedro and Michael discussed how crypto fits into the bank’s overall view on digital assets - and what “could” be a motivating factor for the bank to get involved in stablecoins.Show notes:2:13 - How big (and important) is Zurcher Kantonalbank?3:31 - What does it mean to be a state-owned bank?4:29 - The background of ZKB’s crypto offering6;:28 - Evaluating AML, risk, trading/custody setup9:09 - Consulting the competition about custody and more10:29 - How tokenization started the ball rolling12:17 - Is it now “bitcoin AND blockchain” ?13:22 - The lifecycle of crypto at ZKB: buying BTC with a broker16:04 - The lifecycle of crypto at ZKB: booking and custody18:44 - FOMO in the market because of ZKB’s crypto offering20:49 - Best pricing for clients22:50 - “Just another asset class” ?23:46 - (Negative) surprise along the way25:24 - The average ZKB crypto investor26:54 - ZKB’s visibility in the market with crypto30:14 - Crypto, digital assets and the changing face of finance32:03 - PoCs are dead, real value reigns32:53 - The missing cash leg (stablecoins)35:33 - The missing cooperation in Switzerland37:19 - Different kinds of stablecoins38:34 - Where does tokenization take off?43:00 - ZKB and non-bankable assets44:37 - ZKB’s potential role in an on-chain finance world45:40 - What is still missing for tokenization?46:30 - The need for secondary markets50:02 - Building on Ethereum and following the trend51:30 - Final advice for other banks moving into crypto-----ABOUT THE HOST: Ian Simpson is Director of Marketing and Communication at RULEMATCH as well as host of the RULEMATCH Spot On podcast, focused exclusively on the institutional crypto and digital assets industry. Previously he was Head of Marketing at Bitcoin Suisse and Head of Communications at the Crypto Valley Association. Ian is a veteran of the Swiss crypto and digital assets industry since 2017. His insights on the Swiss crypto and blockchain ecosystem have been featured in CoinDesk, the leader in blockchain news.------Disclaimer:The information contained in this podcast about RULEMATCH AG (“RULEMATCH”) and any guest company is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered exhaustive. They do not imply any elements of a contractual relationship nor any offering.