The former CEO of Swiss banking giant UBS believes that cryptocurrencies have a future when it comes to banks both big and small.

In a recent interview, Peter Wuffli claims that the country of Switzerland, while praising its focus on blockchain technology, needs to be careful of scams and empty promises within the space.

A crypto-focused future

Wuffli, after leaving UBS back in 2007, has recently backed Sygnum, an “independently controlled, scalable, and future-proof digital asset banking solution.” The platform supports storage for Bitcoin and Ethereum alongside other digital assets.

The former CEO is on the board of Sygnum and brings with his 35 years of experience in the world of finance to the startup.

Notably, Wuffli brings up the fact that bank executives, like the ones from UBS, are interested in the fact that Sygnum was able to acquire a banking license.

He claims that interest in his company has gone up since the license acquisition became news.

Now, banks both big and small are looking into cryptocurrencies and wondering if it’s more than just a fad.

These spaces “very clearly” view cryptocurrencies as a way to build new tools for their customers on top of creating “a sense of innovation.”

No bubble for Bitcoin

Wuffli also denotes that there’s no bubble for Bitcoin, despite some naysayers believing otherwise. Conversely, the now-board member sees “more serious business planning and solutions addressing client needs.”

However, anyone who pays attention to the industry knows that Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market, in general, is full of scams, money laundering, and more.

When asked how Wuffli hopes to prevent Sygnum from falling for such a trap, he replies that the blockchain should be reasonably capable of helping them.

On top of this, the group’s “proprietary tools in this field” are regarded as a benchmark, he claims, due to months of “regulatory scrutiny.”

That and there’s a committee that focuses on “ensuring the effectiveness” of the platform’s anti-money laundering services. Wuffli states that this isn’t normal for a bank to have.

As of now, the company is bringing on fewer clients before bringing on a significant amount more. This smaller group is a great start to see how the company performs, and they’ll audit everything before moving forward.

Of course, Sygnum will offer custody, stablecoin and cryptocurrency trading, and more to these clients, ensuring they have services that nobody else can offer them, Wuffli claims.

The board member is excited for Sygnum’s future, stating that after the client base sees some growth, they plan to bring in tokenized stocks, bonds, and more.

From there, medium-sized companies will be able to “issue and trade shares in a tokenized way, a market that does not yet exist today.”

Wuffli notes that he doesn’t want to return to traditional finance. After all, he describes himself as “curiosity-driven” and enjoys applying his previous experience to new industries.

Wuffli has no intent to “reinvent the past,” but would instead forge a new future.

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