Zug-headquartered SEBA Bank receives a license from Hong Kong's markets watchdog to conduct digital asset activities. For Swiss crypto providers, regulation is proving to be a competitive advantage.
SEBA, one of only two Swiss crypto-banks, has received a license from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), according to a statement released Wednesday.
It will allow SEBA to «deal in and distribute all securities, including virtual assets-related products, such as OTC derivatives and structured products with underlying virtual assets; advise on securities and virtual assets; and conduct asset management for discretionary accounts in both traditional securities and virtual assets».
Three Hubs
The new license will bring the total number of regulated hubs in which the Zug-based crypto bank operates to three, alongside Switzerland and Abu Dhabi.
«Hong Kong has been at the center of the crypto economy since Bitcoin’s inception, and we are very pleased to have added this Hong Kong license,» said group CEO Franz Bergmueller. «This regulatory clarity not only benefits our business but also supplements Hong Kong’s status as a global financial services hub, home to a multitude of market leaders in banking, asset management, and capital markets.»
Being licensed is becoming a competitive advantage for Swiss-based actors given continued market fissures, an ongoing crypto-winter in the token and coin market, and large-scale collapses as evidenced by the crypto-exchanges FTX in late 2022. In the wider market, institutions based in Switzerland are increasingly considered to be safe havens capable of attracting client assets.
