Union Bank of the Philippines launches Bitcoin and Ethereum trading

UnionBank, One of the Largest Universal Banks in the Philippines, Launches Cryptocurrency Trading Through Partnership with Swiss Crypto Firm .

The Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), one of the largest universal banks in the Philippines, launches cryptocurrency trading through a partnership with a Swiss crypto company.

UnionBank has launched a pilot program for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) custody and trading services for select retail customers, the company said in a joint announcement Nov. 2.

The new investing and trading feature is being launched in conjunction with Swiss crypto technology company Metaco, with UnionBank going live on Metaco's digital asset platform, Harmonize. UnionBank initially partnered with Metaco for the development of crypto trading services in January 2022.

Licensed and supervised by the central bank of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), UnionBank has been actively exploring the crypto industry in recent years. In 2019, UnionBank launched a payments-focused stablecoin pegged to the Philippine peso.

Henry Aguda, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Transformation Officer at UnionBank, said Metaco has been instrumental in the bank's goal of providing "customer-centric" services in the Philippines. He also noted that UnionBank is among the first regulated crypto users in the country, stating:

"We are proud to continue UnionBank's series of industry firsts, this time being the first regulated bank in the country to allow digital currency exchange functions...