Bitstamp Partners with Dukascopy Bank to Enable BTC Funding and Withdrawals
Bitstamp has formed a partnership with a Swiss bank according to a recent report. This is so its customers can pay into and withdraw from their dollar-denominated accounts with BTC. Coins deposited into the accounts are converted into US dollars and withdrawals made are changed to BTC.
Bitstamp Partnered With Dukascopy Bank
Bitstamp formed a partnership with Dukascopy Bank, which is one of the first Swiss online banks to allow Crypto funding on their platform.
According to Bitstamp:
“Dukascopy’s clients can now send bitcoins to their accounts and the crypto will be converted to US dollars, which they can use to trade on the Swiss FX Marketplace. Clients can also withdraw funds back to their cryptocurrency wallets in the form of bitcoins.”
Presently, Dukascopy offers currency and precious metal (forex) trading to institutional and retail users. It also offers funding and withdrawals of Bitcoin using crypto-fundable trading wallets.
As of now, Bitcoin is the only virtual currency supported by the bank and any BTC transferred by clients to it will always be converted to USD.
According to the bank, the exchange of fiat funds to BTC and back for it is the responsibility of Bitstamp.
“The proceeds of the BTC/USD conversion are credited in USD to the crypto-fundable client account,” the bank explained.
However, for withdrawal, the crypto-fundable client account is debited in USD and converted into BTC at a current rate, it is then transferred into to the client wallet linked to his account.
Why the Partnership?
While explaining its reason for the partnership, Bitstamp said that: “This partnership represents another step towards our goal of bridging the gap between crypto and traditional finance. It is further proof that our efforts in compliance and regulation continue to deliver results at a time of rapid maturation for the cryptocurrency industry.”
Furthermore, this is not the first time Dukascopy Bank will be venturing into the crypto space. Currently, the bank is providing a contract for difference (CFD) “trading on price movements of cryptocurrencies, its derivatives or value estimations,” Only CFDs on BTC and ETH are presently available, and both have a 33% margin requirement and a leverage ratio of 1:3.
