Crypto-focused SEBA Bank has secured a licence from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to operate crypto-related services.

With this new licence, SEBA will be able to deal and distribute securities, including digital asset-related products such as over-the-counter derivatives. The licence also permits SEBA to advise on securities and virtual assets to its institutional and professional investors.

“The region’s position at the forefront of finance, trading, and innovation has long been attractive to us, as servicing APAC clientele is an integral aspiration of the team’s DNA,” said Amy Yu, CEO APAC, SEBA Hong Kong, in the press release.

“We are tremendously excited by Hong Kong’s deep-rooted capital markets and appetite for investment and trading; to have secured this licence from the SFC provides enormous potential for our business, owing to the well-established and defined regulatory framework that is present here,” she continued.

Currently, SEBA Bank has hubs in Switzerland, Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong. In August, the company had received in-principle approval from Hong Kong’s SFC.

Hong Kong’s Crypto Landscape

Hong Kong has been ramping up efforts to attract crypto companies to set up in the city, and promote the city as a crypto hub.

In the wake of the SEC lawsuit against Coinbase, Hong Kong lawmakers invited Coinbase to relocate to Hong Kong.

Additionally, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority urged banks to service crypto companies that were interested in setting up in Hong Kong.

However, the recent JPEX scandal caused significant complications with these plans, with consumer trust in crypto falling and expressing hesitation to invest or hold cryptocurrencies. A number of high-profile artistes and influencers were also implicated in the scandal.

Investigations are currently ongoing.

In the aftermath of the crisis, the SFC promised to release a list of companies that were licenced to provide crypto services in Hong Kong.

That being said, Hong Kong has not slowed in its drive towards becoming a crypto hub, as the new licences show.