Cryptocurrency prices rose on Wednesday, reversing declines recorded earlier in the week. Swiss bank Julius Baer (SIX:BAER) announced it has entered into a partnership agreement with cryptocurrency startup Seba Crypto as part of the bank’s plan to expand its customers’ access to digital currency assets.

Founded 125 years ago, the bank has partnered with Seba Crypto to close the gap between traditional banking and new virtual currencies, the bank said in a statement.

“At Julius Baer we are confident that digital assets will become a valid and sustainable asset class for investment portfolios”, said Peter Gerlach, head of markets at Julius Baer.

While many Swiss banks are active in the digital currency market, the addition of Julius Baer could expand access to alternative currencies. The managed assets of this bank amount to 382 billion Swiss francs ($382.8 billion).

Judging by the Investing.com index, by 16:11 Moscow time the Bitcoin rate increased by 0,6% to $3,826.70.

Overall, cryptocurrencies have risen in price: at the time of writing, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization was $132 billion, compared to the $129 billion value recorded on Tuesday.

Ethereum rose 1.9% to $138.56, XRP fell 0.6% to $0.31705, and Litecoin rose 1% to $45.542.

In other news, JP Morgan’s digital currency could be used for retail purchases. JP Morgan CEO James Dimon told CNBC:

“JP Morgan Coin can be used for domestic payments, business-to-business payments, and one day consumer retail purchases”, Dimon said.

On February 14, JP Morgan announced the launch of its own digital currency for domestic payments, focusing on servicing international transactions of corporations. Some cryptocurrency activists have criticized JPMorgan’s initiative, saying that creating such a currency replaces the core purpose of virtual currencies.