Swiss Crypto Bank SEBA Opens Hong Kong Office

Swiss-based digital asset bank SEBA opens shop in Hong Kong which is attempting to regain the status of a crypto hub.

Notably, this is a further expansion of its presence into the Asia-Pacific region for SEBA bank as it opens a local office which will be identified as SEBA Hong Kong. Managing director Ludovic Shum has been appointed to lead the SEBA Hong Kong executive team.

According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SEBA Franz Bergmueller, “This office, and our deeply talented SEBA Hong Kong executive team, led by our managing director Ludovic Shum, provides a valuable strategic base that will enable us to cater effectively to the rapidly growing demand for crypto in the APAC region.”

Before coming to SEBA, Ludovic Shum worked with Credit Suisse, HSBC, Merrill Lynch and the Hong Kong watchdog Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).

It is believed that this Hong Kong office will be the platform for SEBA’s APAC growth plan. This also comes at a time when Hong Kong is trying to revive its stance and be reinstated as the crypto hub. Hong Kong plans to leverage Singapore’s current approach of tightening crypto regulation, to expand the scope of digital assets in its region. 

SEBA Expands its Crypro Offerings

There is an intention to also open up the crypto market to retail investors. Already, SEBA has launched an Ethereum (ETH) staking service for its institutional clients. This was done even before the coming of the Merge, a transition from Proof-of-work (PoS) to a Proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. 

In October, SEBA introduced regulated custody for blue-chip Non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This gave its clients the ability to store ETH-based NFTs which were basically NFT collections like Bored Apes and CryptoPunks.

“The opening of our Hong Kong office is critical to our ambition in the region. By strengthening our presence in a key international financial centre, we are proud to form part of the crypto ecosystem and to contribute towards the development of the virtual/digital assets space in Hong Kong and the region,” Bergmuller said, adding that;

“With a considerable pedigree as an international financial centre, as well as a supportive regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies, Hong Kong is cementing its position as a global leader in cryptocurrencies.”