Liechtenstein’s Bank Frick has launched the trading of five leading cryptocurrencies and secure safekeeping via offline storage.

The bank said that cryptocurrency trading will take place within the fully regulated framework of its processes and is aimed at professional market participants and financial intermediaries. Clients would be able to invest in cryptocurrencies only their full verification and identification process, which also involves checking the origin of the money used to invest in them.

“Financial intermediaries, such as asset managers and fiduciaries, can make use of our new offering to successfully differentiate themselves in the market and add value for their clients,” emphasises Chief Client Officer Hubert Büchel. “With these direct investments, intermediaries and their clients can easily get to know a new, exciting universe and diversify their portfolios. Investments in cryptocurrencies are highly speculative and so they should form only a small part of a portfolio.”

Bank Frick is offering cryptocurrency trading in Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP) and Ether (ETH) at Bank Frick. The cryptocurrencies can be bought using euros, US dollars and Swiss francs. Trading takes place once a day.

In its official release, the bank said that it offers a high level of protection against the loss or theft of crypto-assets. It holds cryptocurrencies in cold storage wallets, which are physically separated from the Internet and therefore cannot be externally hacked. The wallets and their backup copies are held securely on a georedundant basis, it added.

In September 2017, Bank Frick launched a cryptocurrency basket tracker based on BTC and ETH. The increase in value since then has been 238 per cent (price as of 27 January 2018). The highest point was reached on 10 January 2018 with 367 per cent.