Crypto bank SEBA wins Julius Baer as first major client

Swiss private banks are slowly finding their way into the crypto world. Last year Swissquote made the first move by supporting an ICO from LakeDiamond to allow its bank clients to purchase tokens. Julius Baer, the third largest private listed bank has also joined the crypto scene through a partnership with SEBA Crypto, a Zug based startup that is already awaiting a banking and securities dealer license from FINMA.

SEBA aims to bring crypto and blockchain products and services to the market by providing an easy-to-use, fully licensed, and supervised one-stop banking solution, offering products and services for private individuals and institutional investors, as well as corporate investors. Following the grant of the FINMA license, the startup will combine an online and retail bricks and mortar experience, to cater to all possible user requirements for crypto and traditional banking services.

While the startup waits for the approval, it has already won a Julius Baer as a major client, the company’s current minority stakeholder. As part of their partnership, Julius Baer will not only be an investor in SEBA but will also provide its clients with access to a range of new digital asset services. Julius Baer plans to extend its service range providing storage, transaction and investment solutions for digital assets, while SEBA will provide Julius Baer's clients with easy and secure access to these services in a fully regulated environment. The partnership, which will become effective upon the receipt of the FINMA approval.

At an Extraordinary General Meeting on 20 March 2019, SEBA will propose to its shareholders the election of Peter Gerlach, Head Markets and member of the Executive Board at Julius Baer bank, to the Board of Directors.

Peter Gerlach said: "At Julius Baer, we are convinced that digital assets will become a legitimate, sustainable asset class of an investor's portfolio. The investment into SEBA and the strong partnership are proof of Julius Baer's engagement in the area of digital assets and underpin our dedication to provide our clients with pioneering innovations.”

Guido Bühler, CEO of SEBA, commented: "We are very pleased about the cooperation because Julius Baer's customers can be offered direct and secure access to the crypto world via the SEBA platform. At the same time, we are delighted to propose Peter Gerlach as a new member of our Board of Directors. He complements the Board with extensive financial and market knowledge and a broad international network.”

(Press release/ran)