Bitcoin and other cryptos came under heavy pressure due to the Fed’s decision to fight inflation by raising the interest rates. Another factor that weighs heavy on the market is the CeFi lending crisis that created even more turmoil and even forced some companies into bankruptcy or brought them close to it. But despite these harsh market conditions, the Swiss post office is embracing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Why is PostFinance adopting Bitcoin and what will they offer to their customers?

The bigger picture is driving the decision

The fact that PostFinance is announcing these steps is driven by fundamental analysis rather than current market conditions. According to an article by Swissinfo a spokesperson of PostFinance revealed that most of their customers wish to enter the market through their bank. The ongoing institutionalization of the crypto market during the last 18 months is right signal for the Swiss bank to make that decision.

PostFinance will include Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies within the next 2 years. According to Sandra Lienhart, the head of retail banking the bank will start 2024 the latest. The idea is to provide access to cryptos and professional custody. It is yet unknown if the bank will provide its customers with full wallet functionality.

Competitors like PayPal have entered the crypto market already but are rather moving slowly opening up their wallets as a service to their customers and extending their offers beyond the US.

Banks are rallying behind Bitcoin

PostFinance is not the first and probably not the last bank that is going to open up to Bitcoin. Serving over 2.6 million customers with assets under management worth over 120 billion CHF, the bank is the fifth-largest in Switzerland.

Other banks already have made their move. In Germany, Volksbank Bayern Mitte started to look into Bitcoin last year. The same goes for Banca General in Italy which is offering a multi-sig wallet to their customers. Even in Australia, the Commonwealth Bank introduced the trading of 10 different cryptos among them Bitcoin of course.

This is highly interesting because we get to watch how their decision will play out in comparison to banks who chose to ignore Bitcoin. While the market is still under heavy pressure it is here to stay and apparently, some banks have understood that. One possible outcome is that banks will become indeed obsolete. Not only cryptos and stablecoins pose a risk to the banking services. Central bank digital currencies could also have an impact on how banking is done in the future.

Of course, until the results are in this remains speculation but one thing is for sure: Crypto and CBDC will have a huge impact one way or another. Banks will have to deal with their influence.