[Update 13:41 UTC, July 23: Updated with comments from BancaStato.]

Swiss cantonal bank BancaStato has launched regulated cryptocurrency trading through a partnership with digital asset bank Sygnum and banking software provider Avaloq.

BancaStato, which serves Switzerland's Italian-speaking Ticino region, joined Sygnum's business-to-business (B2B) banking platform to offer crypto asset services, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

The integration enables BancaStato customers to buy, sell, and hold four cryptocurrencies — Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Solana (SOL) — directly through the bank's existing web and mobile banking applications. BancaStato becomes the latest of more than 25 financial institutions leveraging Sygnum's B2B platform to deliver regulated digital asset services.

How the Integration Works

BancaStato integrated Sygnum's trading and custody services into its existing Avaloq core banking system. Avaloq, headquartered in Zurich, develops the software that banks use to run their core and digital banking operations.

The integration connects Sygnum's application programming interface (API) directly to Avaloq's platform, giving customers access to crypto trading within their familiar banking app. The setup eliminates the need for a separate order management system, which the companies said reduces operational complexity and simplifies the addition of new features.

For banks, embedding crypto services into existing core banking and e-banking systems can also reduce the operational gap between traditional account services and digital asset access, while keeping onboarding, account relationships, and customer interfaces within established banking channels.

Fritz Jost, Sygnum's chief B2B officer, noted that BancaStato is the first bank on Avaloq's software-as-a-service platform to offer customers the ability to buy, hold, and sell crypto assets through its e-banking platforms via Sygnum's API. Jost described the launch as a "significant step in the maturity and scalability of regulated digital asset infrastructure."

Sygnum's Expanding European Banking Network

Sygnum's banking partners include Societe Generale-FORGE, PostFinance, and VZ Depotbank.

In late June, Sygnum announced that its Liechtenstein-based subsidiary, Sygnum Europe AG, received a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) license under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation from Liechtenstein's Financial Market Authority (FMA). The license was granted shortly before the end of the MiCA transitional period on July 1, enabling Sygnum Europe to provide regulated crypto asset services under the framework.

MiCA is the EU's harmonized regulatory framework for crypto-asset issuers and service providers, making CASP authorization a key requirement for firms seeking to provide covered crypto services in the bloc. Sygnum's Liechtenstein license is therefore separate from BancaStato's Swiss-only rollout, but relevant to Sygnum's broader ability to support European banking partners.

"This means European partner banks can plug into the same proven bank-to-bank infrastructure without going through the multi-year process of building and licensing their own crypto operations," Jost told Cointelegraph.

He emphasized that banks remain responsible for their own regulatory arrangements, while Sygnum supplies the licensing, custody, and trading infrastructure. "That is exactly what allows a bank to go from decision to live offering in months rather than years."

Source: Sygnum Bank

A BancaStato spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the service is available immediately to its customers. The bank does not plan to seek a MiCA license, as the offering is intended "exclusively for customers residing in Switzerland."