In a statement released Feb. 26, Julius Baer, which already holds a minority equity stake in Seba, said the deal will “provide its clients with access to a range of new digital asset services.” The Zurich-based bank stated that it aims to bridge the gap between traditional and digital assets, taking advantage of Seba’s innovative platform.

“At Julius Baer, we are convinced that digital assets will become a legitimate sustainable asset class of an investor’s portfolio,” Peter Gerlach, head markets at Julius Baer, said in the statement. However, the deal is dependent on Zug-headquartered Seba being granted a banking and securities dealing license by Switzerland’s financial markets regulator FINMA later this year.

A number of Swiss banks, including Swissquote and Falcon, are already active in the cryptocurrency space, but Julius Baer’s entry has drawn keen interest. Current Seba chairman Andreas Amschwand, who is also a board member at Julius Baer, is thought to have played a key role in facilitating the partnership between the two companies, according to Swiss news outlet Swissinfo.ch. Anschwand is, however, expected to step down from Julius Baer in April.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: news.bitcoin.com