Swissquote cuts full-year guidance as crypto income plunges 66%

Swissquote Group, one of Switzerland’s largest online brokers, just delivered a first-half earnings report that reads like two completely different companies. The non-crypto business grew steadily. The crypto business fell off a cliff.

Net crypto assets income collapsed 66.2% year-over-year to CHF 14.6 million in the first half of 2026. Monthly crypto trading volumes on the platform averaged CHF 429 million, down from CHF 1.06 billion in the second half of 2025. That 60% volume decline hit hard enough to force a full-year guidance cut and a 12% drop in Swissquote’s share price.

A tale of two revenue streams

Swissquote’s total net revenues actually rose 1.7% to CHF 364.2 million in the first half, thanks to its traditional financial services business picking up the slack. Net fee and commission income climbed 13%, and net trading income from non-crypto activities jumped 15.8%.

But revenue growth couldn’t paper over the profitability hit. Net profit fell 26% to CHF 153.6 million. Crypto income, while a smaller share of total revenue, had been a high-margin business line that punched above its weight on the bottom line. Losing two-thirds of that income in six months left a mark.

Swissquote responded by cutting its full-year 2026 guidance. The company now expects roughly CHF 730 million in net revenues and approximately CHF 365 million in pre-tax profit.

Investors responded accordingly. Shares dropped about 12% after the earnings announcement, erasing months of gains in a single session.

What killed the crypto volumes

Swissquote pointed to a familiar cocktail of headwinds: reduced risk appetite, falling digital asset prices, geopolitical tensions, rising interest rates, and a stronger US dollar.

The company operates SQX, a proprietary crypto exchange that supports trading across more than 40 digital assets. SQX is a differentiator for Swissquote in the European online brokerage market. Most of its competitors either avoid crypto entirely or offer it through third-party partnerships. But owning the exchange means owning the volatility, and that cuts both ways.

What this means for the broader market

Swissquote’s results matter beyond Switzerland because the company sits at the intersection of traditional finance and crypto. It’s a regulated bank, listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, with a client base that skews toward wealth management and institutional investors rather than retail day-traders.

The fact that overall revenue still grew demonstrates that crypto weakness doesn’t have to sink the entire ship if the core business is healthy. The 13% growth in fee and commission income suggests client assets are still flowing into the platform for traditional investment products, even as crypto trading dries up.

Swissquote’s revised guidance of CHF 730 million in full-year revenue implies roughly CHF 366 million in the back half, essentially flat with the first six months. That suggests management isn’t counting on a crypto recovery to bail out the year.

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