SEBA

Ex-UBS Bankers Raise CHF100 Million to Open Regulated Crypto-Fiat Bank

Guido Bühler, Chief Executive Officer of SEBA
Guido Bühler, Chief Executive Officer of SEBA

SEBA aims to fill the gap of banking institutions willing to deal with the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

SEBA Crypto AG, a Swiss financial services company run by ex-UBS Group AG bankers, has secured CHF100 million from a mix of Swiss and international institutional and private investors to build a regulated bank to bridge the gap between the crypto and traditional financial economies.
The innovative bank will be headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, also known as Crypto Valley for its blockchain-friendly environment. SEBA will target institutions, corporates, and individuals to help them grow confidence to operate in both economies, enabling new thinking, creating solutions and managing digital wealth efficiently.
The cryptocurrency market is often perceived as risky by market participants as it lacks investment specific regulatory protection. This has also crippled crypto companies’ ability to move assets from the crypto markets into the traditional regulated banking world. By obtaining a banking and securities dealer license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), SEBA wants to solve these challenges and develop a platform to “deliver military-grade secure traditional and crypto banking experiences.”
Andreas Amschwand, designated Chairman of SEBA and formerly UBS Global Head of Foreign Exchange and Money Market, commented:
“In Switzerland, we have a commitment from various authorities to establish a comprehensive regulatory environment for the development of blockchain technology and the sustainable, stable growth of crypto assets. This makes Switzerland the ideal place to launch a new financial services paradigm. I’m excited to be part of a team of experts helping to usher in the crypto economy.”
Guy Schwarzenbach, CEO at BlackRiver Asset Management AG, investor and designated Board Member of SEBA said:
“SEBA is an extremely promising start-up with an ambitious mission. The investment in SEBA is predicated on deep analysis of the velocity of the cryptographic asset market – if adoption, use, and utility continue to gain traction at the same rate; crypto will become a legitimate, sound asset class and therefore hold a requisite allocation in investors’ portfolios.”
Jack Chung, Managing Director of Summer Capital, a SEBA investor, said:
“We see our investment in SEBA as leveraging the known ties between Switzerland and Asia, marrying the deep heritage in financial services and security standards of Switzerland, with the impressive growth and innovation that is powering Asia.”
Guido Bühler, Chief Executive Officer of SEBA, added:
“A fundamental aspect of our mission is education, we want to promote the potential blockchain holds for global economic reform and financial inclusion. With safety, transparency, and performance as core values, our ambition is to become a market leader in the convergence of traditional finance with the crypto economy.”

Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA

SEBA Crypto already employs 17 people as it plans to double the number by the end of 2019 by expanding to Singapore and Europe. Following the grant of the FINMA license, SEBA will combine an online and a retail brick and mortar experience, to cater to all possible user requirements for crypto and traditional banking services.

SEBA is in contact with FINMA for the application of a banking and securities dealer license. With the license, the bank would be able to offer secure storage and custodial services, trading and liquidity management, crypto-corporate finance advisory and crypto asset and investment management services.