SEBA Bank AG, a Swiss cryptocurrency-focused bank, received the first authorization to be an institutional custodian of cryptocurrency investments.
Swiss regulators have approved the country’s first digital currency fund that, in an unprecedented way, will be guarded by a local bank focused on cryptocurrencies.
In a statement that took effect on Wednesday, the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA) announced the approval of the Crypto Market Index Fund, which is called the first crypto fund under Swiss law. The agency highlighted this in the statement.
The First Cryptocurrency Fund in Switzerland
The fund is issued by Zurich-based Swiss asset manager Crypto Finance and managed by The Investment Management firm PvB Pernet von Ballmoos AG. It is held in custody by the banking entity SEBA Bank AG.
As such, the new investment vehicle will track the performance of the ‘Crypto Market Index 10’, a product managed by SIX Swiss Exchange, Switzerland’s leading stock exchange.
SIX Swiss Exchange describes on its website that the goal of this index is to measure the performance of the largest and most liquid crypto assets and tokens and bring an invertible benchmark for that asset class.
The regulator highlighted that the fund could only invest in cryptocurrencies with a sufficiently large trading volume. On the other hand, the regulator pointed out that investments must take effect through established platforms based in a member country of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and finally adjust to the corresponding regulations against money laundering.
The authority also discovered that the fund counts on a restriction for qualified investors interested in digital assets. According to a statement from Crypto Finance, the fund invests in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, and Ripple.
Swiss Bank Received first Crypto Custodian License
Along with the approval of the first cryptocurrency fund, FINMA also granted a license to a local bank for the first time to act as a custodian of digital currencies.
SEBA Bank AG, a fully regulated banking institution based in Switzerland, announced today that it received a CISA license from regulators to facilitate an institutional-grade cryptocurrency custody service. According to the announcement, the license enables the bank to provide one of the world’s first institutional-grade custody solutions for investing in digital assets.
This license enables SEBA Bank to offer Swiss-domiciled funds a safe and progressive investment capability within the rapidly evolving crypto and digital assets space.
According to the information, it is the first license granted by FINMA to a bank focused on digital currencies. Founded in 2018, SEBA Bank rose to fame by becoming one of the top financial institutions to venture into cryptocurrencies. The bank, which received a banking license in 2019, supports five cryptocurrencies, being Bitcoin and Ethereum are among the first currencies with such a supportive stance.
By: Jenson Nuñez
