SEBA Bank (before Seba Crypto AG)

History

Beginning of work of bank

In November, 2019 the Switzerland's first legal cryptocurrency bank opened. SEBA Bank founded by former employees of UBS became it. He began to offer services to professional investors and corporate clients.

The head of SEBA Guido Byuler says that clients of bank will be able to take wholly advantage of digital assets, "without sacrificing security". Reliable storage of means is the crucial success factor, and clients will be able to invest both in traditional, and in digital assets, to trade in them and to obtain the credits via the integrated interface, he added.

The Switzerland's first legal cryptocurrency bank opened

At first transactions with five cryptocurrencies will be available to clients of SEBA: bitcoin, Ethereum, Stellar, Litecoin and Ethereum Classic. Access to banking services is provided using the SEBAwalet application and the plastic card linked to the bank account.

They can open accounts, store the fiat, digital and tokenized assets according to the requirements. It is new and extremely important step for a blockchain and economy of digital assets — Byuler emphasized.

He also noted that existence of the plastic card — an important step on the way to mass implementation of cryptocurrency. In the press release it is told that this card is accepted now by 42 million outlets worldwide.

Services in storage in it of cryptocurrency, commission of transactions with it, the credits in digital assets and also transactions with normal money began to be offered clients of financial institution.

SEBA also offers services of opening of corporate accounts for the companies working with blockchain technologies and their employees. Thanks to it the bank, according to his heads, will fill "an important space" in the industry.

Besides, until the end of 2019 SEBA is going to begin to service clients from some foreign jurisdictions.^[1]

2019: Obtaining the license of cryptocurrency bank in Switzerland

At the end of August, 2019 the Swiss body for supervision of financial market (FINMA) provided licenses for banking activity and the securities trading to two cryptospecialized to firms — SEBA Crypto and Sygnum. These organizations will become the first cryptocurrency banks with the state support.

With the new license Seba is going to start officially a new trade platform at the beginning of October, 2019. The plans of Seba are creation of the platform of digital assets for professional traders, firms and institutional clients and also storage and asset management. In the long term of SEBA she intends to provide the services to both the international clients, and local. It is important to note that SEBA is obliged to fulfill the secondary requirements of FINMA prior to activity. If the company of it does not make, the license of the regulator can be revoked.

FINMA provided licenses for banking activity of SEBA Crypto and Sygnum

Sygnum stated that approval of regulating authorities will allow it to bring the offers of digital assets to the market, having provided to clients safe options of work with cryptocurrency. On the website they offer services in release, storage, trade and digital asset management, including bitcoins (BTC), Ether (ETH) and digital tokens of Swiss franc.

With respect thereto released the solution FINMA the management with regulatory requirements to payments on the basis of a blockchain. The management is intended for service providers of a blockchain, including the exchanges, owners of e-wallets and trade platforms. FINMA emphasized that the enterprises a blockchain sector are not exempted from general requirements to work with financial assets. In particular, the existing laws on anti-money laundering are applied also to the payments made through a blockchain as the anonymity inherent in technology raises a fraud risk.^[2]

Notes