Switzerland's fourth-largest bank, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), has opened access for clients to purchase cryptocurrency. According to a press release, users can buy Bitcoin or Ethereum 24/7.

ZKB is the country's largest cantonal financial institution, managing assets worth $235 billion.

According to company representatives, clients can use the ZKB eBanking and ZKB Mobile Banking platforms to trade cryptocurrency. The offer is aimed at both existing bank users and other financial institutions.

At the same time, ZKB provides asset storage and management services. The press release says that clients do not need to set up a cryptocurrency bank or connect third-party software. The bank takes care of all cryptocurrency-related operations.

The bank notes that the offer only applies to clients living in Switzerland. US citizens cannot access this service. At the same time, settlements for cryptocurrency trading operations are always made in US dollars.

Representatives of the financial institution specifically noted that ZKB does not yet provide digital asset staking services.

South Korea to Check Crypto Exchanges for Illegal Transactions — Media

The Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea (FSS) will conduct an inspection of trading platforms working with virtual assets. First of all, the regulator will look for suspicious or illegal transactions, The Korea Times reports.

According to media reports, this is the first inspection of this format since the “Act on the Protection of Users of Virtual Assets” came into force in July 2024. It establishes certain measures to protect South Korean users who invest in cryptocurrencies, including insurance against hacks and malicious attacks, as well as storing capital separately from exchange assets.

It is reported that during the monitoring, the regulator will identify suspicious transactions and ensure that cryptocurrency exchanges and related companies comply with the established rules. The law carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for executives of firms that received more than 5 billion Korean won ($3.7 million) in illegal transactions.

The FSS said it would inspect two crypto exchanges that deal with Korean won. The regulator cited “unusual cases” discovered during preliminary inspections.

The agency will also inspect three more platforms and one crypto wallet provider. However, any other crypto exchange could come under the FSS’s “sights” if complaints arise, the source claims.

Binance to Launch Solana Staking Service in September

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will launch a staking service for Solana (SOL) coins by the end of September 2024. This was reported by The Block, citing a statement from the company.

The statement says that the new tool, called BNSOL, will allow users to stake SOL coins and receive a portion of the network’s fees. Clients will also have access to a liquid token that can be used while the underlying assets are locked.

“BNSOL allows users to unlock liquidity, enjoy continuous reward accumulation, and seamlessly use Binance and the broader DeFi ecosystem, making it ideal for those looking to maximize the potential of their Solana coins,” said Vishal Sachindran, head of regional markets at Binance.

Mining Profitability Hits Record Low — JPMorgan

In August 2024, Bitcoin miners earned an average of $43,600 per exahash per second (EH/s) in daily block rewards. This is the lowest profitability in the history of mining the first cryptocurrency, CoinDesk reports, citing a recent study by JPMorgan.

In their report, the analysts compared the current data to the peak values ​​​​in November 2021. Three years ago, mining was more profitable, earning companies $342,000 per EH/s. At the same time, Bitcoin was trading above $60,000, and the hash rate was 161 EH/s.

According to analysts, the network hash rate, which is one of the indicators of competition in the industry and the difficulty of mining, has been growing for the second month in a row.

“The average network hash rate was 631 EH/s in August, which is 16 EH/s more than last month and about 20 EH/s below pre-halving levels,” the authors of the report noted.