SEBA Bank granted the first Swiss digital asset custody license

Published at: Sept. 29, 2021

SEBA Bank AG, a fully regulated Swiss-based institution that focuses on offering digital cryptocurrency assets, announced Wednesday the approval of a CISA license from the Swiss Financial Market Authority, or FINMA, to facilitate an institutional-grade custodian service for nation-native collective investment schemes.

This announcement enables the bank to become Switzerland’s — and indeed one of the world’s first — digital asset-centric banks to gain a custody license. The endorsement will allow the institution to provide greater investment opportunities to professional clientele in the emerging cryptocurrency markets.

Founded in mid-2018 as an advocate of next-generation digital banking, the firm soon rose to prominence as a pioneer in the regulated digital asset sector. One year later in August 2019, the bank attained its banking and securities firm license and introduced their SEBAwallet app, e-banking service and SEBA card to the market, supporting five major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

CEO of SEBA Bank Guido Buehler shared his thoughts on the banks recent successes:

“Two years ago, SEBA Bank received a Swiss banking and securities firm license and is now enjoying excellent business momentum as institutional adoption of crypto & digital assets accelerates globally.”

Regulatory assurances in what is often considered a volatile market soon attracted the attention of Europe’s elite. In mid-2020, France’s central bank Banque de France selected SEBA to participate in their experimental digital Euro pilot project in a bid to explore the feasibility of CBDCs in cross-border payments.

Related: Swiss Exchange SIX granted approval to launch crypto marketplace

Buehler also commented on the implications of attaining the CISA licence for European adoption:

"With our new CISA license, SEBA Bank continues its pioneering role in the institutional digital asset space. Asset managers can now offer strategies based on crypto or other digital asset underlyings to a broader audience utilizing Swiss-based mutual fund structures secured by SEBA Bank as the CISA-licensed custodian.”

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Blockchain
Regulation
Banking
Switzerland
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