The Swiss financial regulator FINMA has given banking and securities dealer licences to two new “crypto banks” SEBA and Sygnum.
SEBA and Sygnum issued a statement today on 26 Aug. 2019. According to SEBA:
The licence is granted on a conditional basis and will come into effect once SEBA fulfils all the secondary criteria specified by FINMA. SEBA expects to be operational in October 2019 after these criteria are met.
And according to the official announcement by Sygnum:
Sygnum a digital asset technology group, has received a banking and securities dealer licence from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). This is the first time this licence has been awarded to a digital asset specialist with an independently controlled, scalable and future-proof banking solution.
Both the projects are backed with high-profile bankers. SEBA has partnered with Julius Baer which is the private bank and Sygnum's board members includes former UBS CEO Peter Wuffli, and former Swiss central banker Philipp Hildebrand is the company advisor.
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has also published guidance on stringent approach to combating money laundering on the blockchain and how it applies Swiss anti-money laundering rules to financial services providers supervised by FINMA in the area of blockchain technology.
