At BBVA Switzerland we take seriously the digital disruption the financial world is undergoing and recognize that Blockchain is not only here to stay, but to teach us how to improve many of the things we already know. Today, this new technology is driving the next wave of digital transformation that will change the entire financial industry. This innovation is gradually creating new business models with streamlined processes, resulting in a more liquid, more dynamic, more accessible and therefore more efficient market.

So what could be better than learning from one of the most brilliant geniuses of this technology? Last week Adam Back, probably the most important figure in validation technology, together with two other references in the European and Hispanic market because of their contributions to the cryptocurrency industry, Ivar Moesman and Adolfo Contreras, have visited our BBVA headquarters in Zurich to share their perspectives on this new digital ecosystem and to learn first-hand our financial offer as the first traditional bank in Europe to incorporate digital assets into our investment portfolio. We are honoured to count on their presence!

Adam Back, CEO and co-founder of Blockstream, is the creator of Hashcash, the Proof-of-Work system which served as the basis for the Bitcoin mining algorithm and which Satoshi Nakamoto refers to in the Bitcoin white paper. 

Ivar Moesman and Adolfo Contreras are currently heading Blockstream, the world’s leading company founded in 2014 that has consolidated its position as a provider of blockchain technologies and remains at the forefront of cryptography and decentralised systems.

Regarding the value proposition of BBVA Switzerland for its private banking customers, Back has highlighted the security provided thanks to our private key custody model, without intermediaries. In addition, and in contrast to other platforms on the market, at BBVA Switzerland the digital assets of each customer are stored in segregated addresses and are located separately from the balance sheet of the company, avoiding significant counterparty risk. 

Integrating the entire process of buying, selling and liquidating digital assets into our banking system, to be able to handle orders of any size and process multiple orders at the same time, is one of the key points that guarantee a seamless experience with this new security and trust layer for our customers.

“Bitcoin’s capitalisation should reach gold’s in the next five years, putting its price at 500’000 USD/Bitcoin”

When asked about Bitcoin’s potential as an investment, Back estimates that “Bitcoin’s capitalisation should reach gold’s in the next five years, putting its price at 500’000 USD/Bitcoin”. The argument is that Bitcoin shares many of the qualities that make it a store of value like gold, while being more efficient, more divisible, more transferable and available to trade 24/7.