SEBA Bank has been granted a license to offer digital crypto assets to Swiss-domiciled mutual funds – a first for Switzerland according to the FINMA-licensed Swiss Bank.

It was announced on Wednesday that SEBA has been granted a licence to act as a custodian bank for Swiss collective investment schemes pursuant to Art. 72 CISA (KAG).

## A Bridge Between Digital and Traditional

In a statement SEBA, which provides a bridge between digital and traditional assets, said the licence will accelerate its growth by extending its institutional-grade digital asset custody services to Swiss-domiciled mutual funds.

This new licence extends SEBA Bank’s digital asset investment activities by offering digital custody services for Swiss-domiciled mutual funds.

The bank’s statement said it is ‘an important new enabler of liquid investment funds with crypto or other digital assets as an underlying investment class’.

## Excellent Business Momentum

SEBA Bank Guido Buehler added: ‘Two years ago, SEBA Bank received a Swiss banking and securities firm licence and is now enjoying excellent business momentum as institutional adoption of crypto and digital assets accelerate globally.

‘With our new CISA licence, SEBA Bank continues its pioneering role in the institutional digital asset space. Asset Managers can now offer strategies based on crypto or other digital asset underlying’s to a broader audience utilizing Swiss-based mutual fund structures secured by SEBA Bank as the CISA-licensed custodian.’

Swiss Bank Achieves Crypto First

Regulation in the US will not destroy cryptocurrency, but it could slow development. That was the warning given by Tesla boss Elon Musk this week.

Speaking at the Code Conference in California, Musk suggested the US Government should avoid regulating crypto markets.

He said: ‘It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto, but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement.’

Directly asked whether the US Government should actively regulate the crypto industry, Musk said: ‘I would say, “Do nothing”.’

Musk has publicly supported some digital coins is positive about the part crypto will play in addressing issues with traditional financial systems. At the Code Conference, however, he accepted the impact of cryptocurrency has limits.

He said: ‘I wouldn’t say that I’m a massive cryptocurrency expert. I think there’s some value in cryptocurrency, but I wouldn’t say it’s the second coming of the Messiah.’

## Power Shortages

During the interview, Musk addresses recent developments in crypto mining and regulation in China.

Tougher measures to crack down on cryptocurrency trading, including stronger systems to monitor crypto transactions, have been outlined by China’s central bank.

Musk believes the move is power-related, but electrical, not political.

He said the crackdown was due to the country’s ‘significant electricity generation issues’.

Musk added: ‘Part of it may actually be due to electricity shortages in many parts of China. A lot of South China right now is having random power outages, because the power demand is higher than expected.

‘Crypto mining might be playing a role in that.’

However, he acknowledges the Chinese Government may have issues with decentralised nature of cryptocurrencies may present a challenge for the Chinese government.

He said: ‘I suppose cryptocurrency is fundamentally aimed at reducing the power of a centralised government. They don’t like that.’

Elon Musk Tells Regulators to ‘Do Nothing’ on Crypto

Revolut, a London based FinTech company has recently announced expansion of the firm as there are plans to launch its own cryptocurrency token that would initially be available to European and other US markets to begin with.

According to the reports coming from Revolut, they are planning to bring out a cryptocurrency token of their own and this would be available initially in London and US markets. The token is dubbed as "Revolut coin" and will be usable on the platform for free services like payment transfers and ATM withdrawals.

Token holders will be able to have premium access to features such as discounts, rewards and other benefits within the platform.

The company started providing cryptocurrency buying and selling services in 2017. But it started expanding its crypto offerings this year, increasing its crypto-asset offerings to 53.

Revolut to Launch its Own Crypto Token

Switzerland’s financial regulator has approved a cryptocurrency investment fund offered by a subsidiary of the country's stock exchange. On Wednesday, the FINMA approved Switzerland's first ever crypto fund which will be called the Crypto Market Index Fund, categorised by FINMA as "other funds for alternative investments".

The new cryptocurrency fund mentioned earlier will track an unspecified index that comprises of “cryptocurrencies and crypto assets” based on market cap, which means it cannot include Ripple or Stellar due to their lack of decentralisation. As reported by local news agency Aargauer Zeitung, the fund is also currently limited to professional or qualified investors.

## No Concerns for Investor Protection

The Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) stated publicly that it has approved the very first cryptocurrency fund. The regulator said in an official statement, "The FINMA has issued a binding order to Crypto Fund AG in connection with its initial approval of the fund domiciled in Switzerland for listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange. At the same time, it has notified the Zug-based asset manager to cease unauthorized promotional and advertising activities."

The Supervisory authority said that an initial assessment of cryptocurrency funds did not pose any concerns for investor protection but added that future financial market innovators should comply with the current regulations.


Switzerland News: First-Ever Crypto Fund Approved

In an effort to be ‘maximally compliant with regulatory requirements’ the world’s second largest Ethereum mining pool announced today that all operations are to halt at the end of the month.

Hangzhou based[ SparkPool](https://www.sparkpool.com/en/) released the information yesterday confirming all activities were to cease by Thursday 30th September.

This announcement closely follows Friday’s decision that all new users were banned from registering with SparkPool with immediate effect.

## SparkPool Contribute 22% of Hash Rate

Since its inception in 2016, SparkPool has evolved to become the world’s second largest Ethereum mining operation by hash rate closely behind industry behemoth Ethermine. SparkPool currently contribute 22% of the entire Ethereum hash rate with a whopping 142 terra-hash per second.

SparkPool’s announcement follows a call from the State Council of China in May this year for local authorities to crack down on crypto mining activities and, while this had been somewhat of a success, a number of stealth mining operations have been slowly resuming work over the last few months.

## China's Decision May Have an Impact

Many people believe the announcement was heavily influenced by the Chinese Central Government’s recent decision to declare all crypto related activity illegal with immediate effect (Thursday 23rd September).

Following the initial country wide clampdown in May this year, Bitcoin miners Poolin and BIT Mining have been looking for new premises and had ear marked North America and Central Asia as possible new sites.

While SparkPool could also have circumnavigated the ban by taking their mining operation overseas they evidently have chosen not to.

Global mining outfit, Huobi, declared on Sunday September 26th that all China based users will be unable to access their services by the end of the year.

The news did not come as a huge surprise to many industry leaders as China continue to crackdown on the cryptocurrency eco-system within the country. Consequently, SparkPool seem to have made the decision with the purpose of protecting client assets.  
  
The impact on Ethereum network performance and price is yet to be seen.

Many proponents view the China ban as bullish for crypto as pushback from China has historically been good for the rest of the Western world. In 2009, China banned Facebook and YouTube from its shores closely followed Google and Wikipedia. All went on to see massive success in other markets.  
  
SparkPool have not released any further information regarding their future plans at this point however given Ethereum’s continued port to a Proof of Stake non-mining mechanism SparkPool’s decision may be rather telling.

For more Ethereum news, see [here.](/news/category/ethereum-news-today)

Ethereum’s Second Largest Mining Operation to Close

Cryptocurrency trading platforms are more likely to succeed if they submit to existing crypto regulation, according to the head of the [US Securities and Exchange Commission.](https://www.sec.gov/)

Talking during the Code Conference in Beverly Hills, SEC Chair Gary Gensler stopped short of confirming cryptocurrencies would come under SEC regulation, but did say observing existing tax compliance, money laundering and insider trading laws could assist exchanges.

## Investors Expect Profit

Gensler said US law has a broad view of what a securities market is, but the common thread is that it involves organisations raising money from investors who expect a profit.

Being interviewed on Monday by the former US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, he added: ‘I think there is a lot of clarity in the law. This won’t end well if they stay outside the regulatory space.’

There was little doubt Gensler believes cryptocurrency, including creating and trading, does come within the existing definitions of securities trading, and he believes crypto would benefit from clear regulation.

## Request to Improve Transparency

During the Code Conference, Gensler also discussed regulation of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), confirming he’s asked the SEC staff to recommend regulatory measures, including improve transparency.

The SEC website notes Gensler was nominated by President, Joe Biden, and sworn in as Chair on April 17, 2021.

Prior to joining the SEC, Gensler was professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, co-director of MIT’s Fintech@CSAIL, and senior advisor to the MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative. He also served as chair of the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission.



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Crypto Business News | Page 26

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Swiss Bank Achieves Crypto First

Elon Musk Tells Regulators to ‘Do Nothing’ on Crypto

Revolut to Launch its Own Crypto Token

Switzerland News: First-Ever Crypto Fund Approved

Ethereum’s Second Largest Mining Operation to Close

'Crypto Regulation Could Lead to Success'

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