Swiss banks enter age of bitcoin
Switzerland's banking industry has long been known to privately safeguard wealth, so some bankers see bitcoin as a natural fit for the nation's financial sector.
Although such bankers may still be a minority, Zurichbased SEBA Bank AG opened in November 2019 with a universal banking license and a suite of services ranging from fiat storage to crypto custody, a crypto-connected debit card that automatically converts to fiat on the backend for regular shopping and crypto-trading options through the bank's mobile app.
SEBA CEO Guido Bühler said the bank raised 100 million Swiss francs (roughly $103.4 million) from angel investors like Guy
Schwarzenbach, founder of Black River Asset Management. Schwarzenbach said the pricing for SEBA app trades, enabled by backend API integrations with global exchanges, offered "extremely competitive" pricing compared to over-the-counter trades.
"What I am really excited about for SEBA upcoming deployment of a margin and lending business, including options and derivatives," Schwarzenbach said.
SEBA was hardly the first bitcoin-friendly Swiss bank. The private bank Falcon Group, for example, launched bitcoin management services in 2017. Matthew Blake, the World Economic Forum's monetary systems lead, described crypto-friendly, fully licensed banks as an emerging trend. "It's something institutions
do to hedge," he said.
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Likewise, the Swiss crypto startup Bitcoin Suisse has also applied for a universal banking license with the goal of offering everything from staking services to loans.
"We're not applying for a banking license just to be like every other bank. We are pioneers at heart," said Bitcoin Suisse marketing lead Ian Simpson. "We will, of course, offer cash accounts for our clients, in their own name. ... We will be able to start trading crypto securities, stablecoins and synthetics, such as minifutures and products to short the major crypto assets."
However, among such banks so far, SEBA offers a unique ability to hold a variety of many fiat currencies, including American dollars, Hong Kong dollars and Singaporean dollars, then instantly trade cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ether and Stellar lumens.