Reports say Swiss banking giant UBS is planning to let a small group of its 
private bank clients buy and sell major cryptocurrencies. The step would open 
access to Bitcoin and Ethereum for people who have worked with the bank for 
years, not for every customer. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Sharp Reversal 
Leaves Over $800 Million Liquidated In 1 Day Private Clients First According 
to a Bloomberg report, the service would start in Switzerland and be offered 
only to select private banking clients, with any wider rollout dependent on 
rules and demand. The move is careful and measured. It is being tested with a 
narrow set of clients before any wider push is considered. How It Would Work 
Reports note that UBS has been talking with outside firms about providing the 
trading, custody and compliance pieces needed to make crypto trading run 
smoothly. Partners would likely handle technical tasks while UBS keeps the 
client relationship front and center. Those talks have been going on for 
months, and no final deals are said to be done yet. Why Now Wealthy clients 
have been asking for ways to own digital assets safely. UBS has run pilots on 
tokenized funds and has worked on blockchain payments before. The bank’s size 
and reputation mean it can offer a more cautious path into crypto than many 
smaller players. At the same time, changes in regulation and the broader 
market have made the plan more realistic than it might have seemed a few years 
ago. Based on reports, the initial offering would focus on Bitcoin and 
Ethereum. More coins could be added later, but that would depend on which 
assets meet the bank’s risk and compliance checks. UBS will reportedly decide 
what custody model to use and whether it needs third parties for trade 
execution. No launch date has been set. A Broader Trend Banks from different 
countries are slowly giving rich clients more ways to touch crypto, but each 
does it in its own style. Some offer ETFs and funds. Some go further and let 
clients trade coins directly. UBS’s cautious design fits a pattern where big 
banks move slowly, testing the systems before widening access. A handful of 
recent moves by other institutions show the same pattern. Related Reading: 
Bitcoin Influencers Get Spotlight In X’s New ‘Starterpacks’ What Comes Next 
Reports note that regulators and client interest will help decide how fast 
this goes. If rules in the US and other places stay friendly and clients 
respond, the offering could broaden beyond Switzerland. If not, the bank could 
keep the plan tightly limited. For now, the idea remains a plan under 
discussion rather than a product on the market. UBS’s steps reflect growing 
demand from wealthy investors for safer ways to hold crypto through trusted 
firms. The bank’s careful progress shows how traditional finance is testing 
the waters without rushing in. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from 
TradingView

Crypto Meets Private Banking: UBS Weighs New Offering

Investors and crypto users warn the proposed unrealized gains tax could drive 
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Netherlands risks capital flight with unrealized gains tax on stocks, crypto

Solana price lost the recent momentum and slipped to the lowest level since 
January 2nd despite having some of the best on-chain metrics. Solana (SOL) 
token dropped to a low of $127, down by 15% from its highest level in…

Solana price prediction as network fees, transactions, and users soar

Early bitcoin losses, custody failures, and a $4 buy price shaped Tim Draper’s 
enduring bet that crypto’s real power lies in financial inclusion, a 
conviction driving renewed price calls and long-term holding through 
volatility. Tim Draper Shares Personal History Behind Landmark Bitcoin 
Investments Venture capitalist Tim Draper shared on social media platform X on 
Jan. […]

Tim Draper Bought Bitcoin at $4, Held Through Crashes Ignoring Price Signals

Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has pushed back against 
growing scrutiny surrounding his relationship with President Donald Trump, 
saying his ties to the president and his family have been widely misunderstood 
following Trump’s decision to grant him a pardon last year. CZ Rejects 
Allegations Of Binance’s Political Links Attention on Zhao intensified after 
President Trump issued a pardon in October 2025, a move that prompted renewed 
criticism from Democratic lawmakers and fueled questions about Binance’s 
alleged political and business connections. Addressing the controversy in a 
recent interview with CNBC, Zhao said claims of a business relationship with 
the Trump family are inaccurate. “There’s no business relationship 
whatsoever,” Zhao stated. The former executive added that the narrative 
surrounding the pardon and Binance’s alleged ties to Trump had been 
“misconstrued.” Related Reading: Binance Forms New Company In Greece, Moves 
Forward With MiCA Licensing Much of the scrutiny centers on Binance’s 
connection to the Trump-linked decentralized finance (DeFi) venture World 
Liberty Financial (WLFI). That connection traces back to a $2 billion 
investment made in March 2025 by MGX, a state‑owned firm based in Abu Dhabi, 
United Arab Emirates. MGX invested in Binance using USD1, a stablecoin created 
by World Liberty Financial. Zhao emphasized that the payment method was chosen 
by the investor, not Binance. “MGX is the investor. They choose USD1,” he 
said. “My request to them was they pay us in crypto. I don’t want to deal with 
banks, really.” According to Zhao, the use of the venture’s USD1 stablecoin 
has been wrongly interpreted as evidence of a deeper relationship. “Many 
people misconstrued that,” he added. WLFI Push Back On Political Influence 
Claims In a statement, WLFI spokesperson David Wachsman said the company 
played no role in the pardon process. “As we have stated many times, WLFI is 
not a political organization and had zero role in the pardon process,” 
Wachsman said. “To imply otherwise is dangerous and false.” Trump himself 
downplayed any personal connection in a November interview with CBS’s 60 
Minutes. “I have no idea who he is,” the president said of Zhao. Trump added 
that he had been told Zhao was “a victim, just like I was and just like many 
other people, of a vicious, horrible group of people in the Biden 
administration.” Additional attention has focused on Binance’s lobbying 
efforts in Washington. NBC News reported during the week of the pardon that 
Binance had hired Checkmate Government Relations, a lobbying firm led by 
Charles McDowell, who is a friend of Donald Trump Jr. Related Reading: Expert 
Analyzes XRP, Ethereum, And Solana: Predictions For The Next Altcoin Season 
According to disclosures, the firm was paid $450,000 to lobby the White House 
and the Treasury Department on matters including “executive relief” and 
digital asset‑related financial services policy. Zhao denied that any lobbying 
effort was connected to his pardon. “There is a lot of media saying that there 
is some deal in place to get me the pardon,” he told CNBC in Davos. “As far as 
I know, that does not exist at all.” Binance&#8217;s former CEO also said he has 
never spoken directly with President Trump. “The closest that I got to him was 
today when he was doing the Board of Peace session,” Zhao said. “I was in the 
audience, about 30 to 40 feet away from him.” At the time of writing, Binance 
Coin (BNB) was trading at $893, having recorded a 4% drop over the previous 
week. However, it is one of the few cryptocurrencies to have retained gains 
year-to-date, with an increase of 30% in that time. Featured image from 
OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com

Cryptocurrency price in NOK