Zurich’s Crypto Broker AG announced on Monday that it had received a securities house license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
Crypto Broker AG is part of a conglomerate of digital assets that includes asset management and storage infrastructure services. The license means expanding the scope of their business and adding a stamp when it comes to compliance, risk monitoring, liquidity reporting, etc., said Rupertus Rothenhaeuser, CEO of Crypto Broker.
“Some of our customer banks have strict instructions to only deal with regulated partners,” said Rothenhaeuser in an interview. “Now all you have to do is call them to check a box and they can start trading.”
Switzerland is probably the only place on the planet where regulations actually keep pace with crypto infrastructure. However, only a handful of crypto companies have received FINMA’s blessing.
The securities license invites Crypto Broker AG to join other regulated Swiss crypto players such as SEBA and Sygnum and to immerse themselves in the world of regulated security tokens (an area that is currently being clarified in Switzerland thanks to the so-called “Super DLT Act” had received). .
In terms of immediate practicality, as a licensed broker, the company allows it to hold funds in fiat currency for customers, which removes the headaches with payments and processing, Rothenhaeuser said.
“On the one hand, we are a modern, fast DLT-based company. On the other hand, the payment cycle for cryptocurrency transactions sometimes reminds me that I was in the 1980s, ”said Rothenhaeuser. “As a securities license holder, we can keep money in the account instead of always keeping the balance zero, so we can get much better results right through processing and also maximize our margins.”
When asked which big players are in line to trade with Crypto Broker AG, Rothenhaeuser politely declined to mention names, but said that some big players will appear in the news cycle shortly.
“We waited a long time for this license. I expect to have solid phone calls for the next five days, ”he said.
