Until recently, few would have expected a passion for crypto to be pulsing within the Postfinance Tower on the outskirts of Bern. And yet, for about a year and a half, the systemically important bank has been offering its customers – roughly one-third of Switzerland's population – access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies.

The person responsible for building this offering, branded «Crypto by Postfinance», is Alexander Thoma. finews.com met the University of Zurich Ph.D. economist at his workplace to learn more.

Awarded for Digital Assets

When you speak with Thoma about cryptocurrencies, it’s immediately clear: this is someone who lives and breathes his topic.

For expanding Postfinance’s crypto services to include staking, Thoma was recently honored with the 2025 AssetAward in the «Digital Assets» category – a recognition presented by finews.com in collaboration with AssetRush.

Mr. Thoma, congratulations on winning the Asset Award. What did the recognition mean to you personally?

The whole event was really cool. I saw a lot of familiar faces – some of whom I hadn’t crossed paths with in years. I especially appreciated that the award was decided by public vote. That was a first for me and felt very authentic. The reception afterward was great too, relaxed yet professional. It was definitely a highlight for me – the award is sitting at home on my shelf.

Did it have any professional impact?

Absolutely. Even during the event – and even more afterward – I was approached frequently about job opportunities at Postfinance. Digital assets clearly act as a magnet: many bankers and financial intermediaries are interested in the space. I also received inquiries on LinkedIn. Overall, this shows how powerful the topic is for HR branding – we've been receiving significantly more high-quality applications since launching our crypto offering.

«Around 56 percent of crypto clients had never used any investment product with us before.»

How large is your team?

There are seven of us. Our focus goes beyond crypto-asset investing – we’re involved in the entire ecosystem. For example, we’re participating in the BIS «Agora» project on cross-border blockchain payments, as well as the Swiss Bankers Association’s book-money token initiative. For us, these use cases are very much part of the digital assets space – we take a broad view.

That openness reflects the spirit of the Asset Awards: it’s not just about Bitcoin & Co., but about expanding the investment universe.

Exactly. For me, the key question is whether digital assets should be treated as a separate asset class or as part of alternatives. I tend toward the former – it’s fundamentally different from equities, bonds, or commodities. The Asset Rush event really showed how far the field has come – also thanks to platforms like Gentwo.

How did crypto first come onto Postfinance’s radar?

The initial spark came back in 2013 from our innovation department. Back then, blockchain was mainly seen as a potentially disruptive payment technology – and as one of the largest players in that space, we had to look into it. I joined in 2020 and brought the topic into the operational side of the bank.

«We've been receiving significantly more high-quality applications since launching our crypto offering.»

Some other banks launched crypto offerings in response to outflows toward crypto exchanges. Was that the case for you as well?

That wasn’t the main reason. Our focus was on staying technologically relevant – and not becoming the next Kodak or Nokia. With this offering, we’re building up internal know-how – because the custody of Ethereum isn’t far from the custody of a digital franc. It’s about future readiness. While we did observe outflows, those mainly served as a signal to launch «Crypto by Postfinance» in early 2024.

What exactly does the offering include?

We currently offer 16 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple. Our customers can buy, sell, and even set up savings plans with them. Everything is fully integrated into our e-banking platform – including tax reports. We’re especially proud of our Ethereum staking service: we enable native staking with micro-amounts, without needing to hold 32 ETH.

Who is the offering aimed at?

It cuts across all demographics. We have users ranging from 18 to 93 years old. Our strongest regions are Zurich and Bern. Around 56 percent of crypto clients had never used any investment product with us before – for many, it’s their first step into investing.

That’s surprising – over half?

Yes, 56 percent. For us, that’s an exciting opportunity: these customers will age, build wealth – and we can then engage them with more traditional offerings. That creates attractive cross-selling potential.

«We offer the product, but we don’t give investment advice.»

How active is the trading?

By the end of last year, we had processed around 220,000 trades. In early 2025, we’ve seen an additional 40,000 trades per month. Everything is automated – we couldn’t handle it manually. We don’t have private banking structures, but a high-performance retail setup with lots of small tickets.

Which cryptocurrencies are most popular with your clients?

By trading volume: 35 percent Bitcoin, 23 percent Ripple, and 11 percent Ethereum. Ripple overtook Ethereum toward the end of the year. In terms of trade count: 26 percent Bitcoin, 19 percent Ripple, and 14 percent Ethereum. Ethereum has more trades but less volume than Ripple. That roughly aligns with what other banks are seeing as well.

What percentage of Postfinance customers use the crypto service?

In the low single digits – but within our investment business, it’s become a very relevant topic.

What’s next on the roadmap?

A key milestone is enabling coin deposits and withdrawals: customers should be able to transfer their coins from private wallets to us – and vice versa. That feature will go live in early 2026. We’re also planning a slight expansion of our coin universe and want to extend staking to more coins. But it definitely won’t be hundreds of coins.

«We want to become one of Switzerland’s leading providers of digital asset banking.»

You’re partnering with Sygnum for the technical infrastructure?

Yes. Sygnum acts as broker and backend partner – all customer relationships and frontend processes are handled by us. This partnership allowed us to become market-ready very quickly.

How did you personally get into crypto?

In 2017, I co-founded a startup in the Crypto Valley with some university friends – we were early adopters of tokenization. There were no formal courses back then; we had to learn everything ourselves. You’d invest a bit and hope you didn’t lose everything. The startup wrapped up in 2020 – just as Postfinance was looking for someone in the space. I was already in discussions with them, and that’s how we came together.

Today you’re Head of Digital Assets at a systemically important bank. Where do you go from here?

Our ambition is clear: we want to become one of Switzerland’s leading providers of digital asset banking. We’re early movers – and we see great potential. We aim to solidify that position by 2030.

How resilient is the business if prices fall again?

In retail, volatility is strongly felt – both in up and down markets. Our trading volumes correlate at around 0.85 with the overall Bitcoin market. That shows how closely our customers react to market sentiment. That’s why we’re sticking to an execution-only model – we offer the product, but we don’t give investment advice.

Is the offering actively promoted?

We promote the «Crypto by Postfinance» product itself – but we don’t say things like «Buy Bitcoin now!» And even if we wanted to, regulations wouldn’t allow that. We inform customers about the offering, but the decision is entirely theirs.

How do you view the regulatory environment?

Switzerland was an early mover, with a comprehensive regulation unanimously passed by Parliament – that’s quite rare. It enabled us to take a very progressive approach. In the U.S., you can now see the tide turning – big banks are starting to open up. The dynamics remain exciting.

Alexander Thoma is Head of Digital Assets at Postfinance. A Ph.D. economist and Chartered Digital Asset Analyst, he brings experience from Switzerland’s Crypto Valley as co-founder of blockchain startup Alethena. Since 2020, he has been driving the development of digital investment products at Postfinance.