Swissquote SQX: crypto execution within a Swiss bank account

SQX is Swissquote’s in-house crypto exchange. This profile uses Swissquote Bank Ltd’s Swiss private-client service for public retail prices and transfers, with institutional access identified separately. A Swiss bank-account tariff is not a universal direct-venue fee, and regional entities can offer different features.[1][2]

The Swiss product page advertises 55 cryptocurrencies and describes SQX as aggregating liquidity from external exchanges, Swissquote and its clients. The institutional SQX page instead advertises 45 custody assets and 50 trading pairs. These are differently scoped published counts, checked on 21 October 2026, rather than a single reconciled instrument list. The live instrument and network supported by the client’s account remain the useful unit of comparison.[1][2]

The relevant economic exposure is ownership of crypto held through the bank. Swissquote also distributes crypto-linked securities and operates other trading businesses, but those products have separate contracts and costs. The presence of Forex or CFD applications in the navigation does not change a spot-crypto holding into a leveraged CFD.[1][13]

Swiss tiers use trailing 30-day volume across portfolios; a threshold-crossing trade retains the prior rate. Expiring volume can lower the tier. The USD table conflicts with residual CHF wording; confirm the account-displayed tier and currency.[3]

Commission-only examples: USD 2,000 at 1.00% costs USD 20; USD 20,000 at the 4-million tier costs USD 50 maker or USD 70 taker. These exclude spread, conversion, custody, tax and transfers. A limit order is not automatically a maker execution.[3]

Crypto is included in custody assets. Four CHF 20 quarters produce CHF 80, or CHF 86.48 with 8.1% VAT, assuming the lowest standard band applies throughout. This is an annualised illustration. Legal-entity and jurisdiction-specific custody schedules can differ.[4]

USD and EUR are the principal quote currencies in the crypto FAQ; CHF is not a direct crypto quote currency there. Swissquote says an account with sufficient buying power can trade without already holding the required USD or EUR, but the resulting debit balance can attract interest. Decide whether to exchange cash first: a positive total account value is not the same thing as cash available in the settlement currency.[5]

The crypto FAQ allows incoming transfers from approved exchanges or wallets owned solely by the client, and describes address whitelisting. It states that outgoing transfers to exchanges are unsupported. This is a material difference from a general-purpose withdrawal wallet: establish the permissible destination before buying an asset specifically to move it to another trading venue.[5]

The August 2026 contract requires transfer pre-clearance, without a guaranteed processing deadline. Screening, documentary requests and cold storage can delay or prevent delivery. Previously supplied receiving addresses require confirmation before reuse; an old transaction record is insufficient.[8]

For fiat funding, the account tariff lists incoming bank wires as free of Swissquote’s own charge, with third-party charges possible. Card funding shows 1.9% third-party costs for SEPA-country residents and 0% for residents outside that area, subject to the published conditions. A bank-wire timetable is separate from blockchain processing and should not be used as a crypto-withdrawal promise.[4]

Swissquote says it keeps the vast majority of client digital assets directly and a smaller operational amount with sub-custodians. Its risk page names Coinbase Inc., Bitstamp Europe S.A. and Payward Inc. The wallet page promotes asset segregation, but the legal risk disclosure explicitly says segregation in the bank’s bankruptcy is not guaranteed and warns that foreign sub-custody can complicate recovery. The legal qualification is material to the marketing claim.[7][6]

Accordingly, bank custody should be understood as a documented holding and control arrangement, not proof that crypto is covered by a cash-deposit guarantee or a published per-client insurance amount. The reviewed documents did not establish a crypto insurance limit. Custody also leaves network, token and market risks with the investor; a recognised bank name does not fix the resale value or liquidity of the asset.[7]

The contract authorises locking/delegation and third-party validators. Staked assets cannot be sold or transferred until processing completes. Rewards and unstaking deadlines are not guaranteed. Clients generally bear slashing risk, subject to the bank’s liability for fraud or gross negligence.[8]

If gross rewards were hypothetically 0.10 ETH and the only deduction were the published 20% staking fee, the fee would be 0.02 ETH and the remainder 0.08 ETH. That arithmetic does not forecast a yield or include any other costs or protocol penalties. It illustrates why an advertised gross reward should not be presented as the amount the client necessarily receives.[9]

Opening documentation calls for identification, recent proof of residence and camera-based authentication. The Swiss account-opening page says EU/EEA residents can approach the Swiss bank on their own initiative, while the website may route them to the European entity by default. Confirm the contracting bank during onboarding: the page expressly distinguishes Swiss investor-protection standards from those of Swissquote Bank Europe in Luxembourg.[12]

The API documentation distinguishes trading from custody-data retrieval. It offers an integration test environment and states that professional users can place, change or cancel orders and inspect status. The interface’s cryptocurrency order list is narrower than the consumer FAQ. Do not assume an order type, withdrawal permission or retail API credential simply because a separate Swissquote product supports it.[10]

For a missing execution or blocked transfer, preserve the order identifier, time, instrument and transaction reference before contacting the bank. The public contact page establishes assistance routes, not a guaranteed alternative crypto dealing service during an outage. The general Forex dealing contact is a different product route and should not be treated as an assured SQX execution channel.[14]

The AI Assistant is described as support and guidance. The reviewed page does not establish autonomous crypto-trading authority. A conversational answer should not be substituted for an accepted order or a confirmed transfer. Likewise, removing a lost device protects account access; it does not by itself demonstrate that an outstanding order has been cancelled.[14][13]

FINMA’s authorised-bank list dated 21 October 2026 identifies Swissquote Bank SA in Gland as a bank. Swissquote’s English contract uses Swissquote Bank Ltd. This corroborates the Swiss banking entity; it is not a statement that every token has regulatory approval or that every international Swissquote entity offers identical crypto services. The profile does not assign SQX a separate exchange licence on that basis.[15][8]

Swissquote’s institutional pages explicitly condition availability on the office providing the service. A proposed professional relationship therefore needs the actual entity, eligible client type, permitted location and custody agreement documented together. Group membership alone is insufficient to select the appropriate fee schedule or claims route.[11]

SQX is a Swissquote-developed venue within the group’s broader banking and brokerage business. Swissquote Group has been listed on SIX since May 2000, and the institutional overview describes the Swiss bank’s banking and securities-trading licence dating from 2001. Group account and asset totals cover a wider business than crypto, so they are not used here as SQX user counts, crypto balances or exchange volume.[19]

The pricing FAQ describes migration from static to dynamic tiers without a universal effective date. Older commission quotations need checking. The August 2026 contract supplies the current transfer and staking obligations reviewed here.[3][8]

Operator

Swissquote Bank Ltd (Swissquote Bank SA)

Exchange model

Centralised

Service scope

Swissquote-developed spot exchange integrated with bank crypto custody, eligible transfers and staking. Public figures and prices here refer principally to the Swiss bank’s private service; institutional SQX and API relationships have separate eligibility and commercial terms.

Client types

Retail clients; Professional clients; Institutional clients

Pricing publication

Public and quoted pricing

Other names

SQX; Swissquote crypto

Headquarters

Gland, Switzerland

Pricing scope

Public Swiss retail maker/taker tiers, quarterly custody and crypto-transfer fees; institutional pricing by arrangement. Tariff’s USD table and residual CHF wording are not silently reconciled.

Funding scope

Bank-account fiat funding and permitted blockchain deposits/withdrawals. USD/EUR crypto quotes, currency-debit risk, approved sources and whitelisted external wallet destinations require attention.

Custody and asset handling

Predominantly direct bank custody with limited operational sub-custody. The legal disclosure warns that segregation in bankruptcy is not guaranteed. No verified universal crypto insurance limit is asserted.

Client eligibility

Identity and residence verification required. Country access and entity selection matter; Swissquote distinguishes the Swiss bank from the Luxembourg and other regional entities. Institutional APIs are for professional users.

Support

Swiss Customer Care telephone and contact form; separate 24/7 fraud assistance, device-recovery instructions and AI support assistant. No assured outage dealing route established.

Authorisation and registration scope

FINMA authorised-bank list dated 21 October 2026 names Swissquote Bank SA, Gland. Bank identity and supervision are distinct from token approval, specific crypto insurance and the permissions of other Swissquote entities.

Exchange metadata checked 21 Oct 2026Source 1Source 2Source 3Source 7Source 12Source 15

The dormant-assets notice advises clients to keep contact details current and explains that their rights continue during dormancy. It describes attempts to re-establish contact and, if necessary, central registration of unclaimed assets. This is distinct from the separate Forex account inactivity tariff and from normal custody fees on an otherwise reachable client’s crypto holdings.[17]

The practical assessment combines execution, bank-account carrying costs and the permitted exit route. For someone intending to move coins elsewhere, supported networks and transfer approval can matter more than a small difference in commission.[6]