Swiss digital asset bank AMINA has received a regulatory license from the Austrian Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to operate cryptocurrency services across Europe under the regulatory regime for crypto asset markets (MiCA).
Austria’s approval paves the way for the launch of AMINA EU (the official entity approved by the FMA is AMINA [Austria] AG), to offer cryptocurrency trading, custody, portfolio management and staking services to professional investors, including family offices, corporates and financial institutions, AMINA said.
AMINA (formerly known as SEBA Bank) holds a banking license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), as well as crypto licenses in Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi. The crypto bank positions itself in the sector of private clients and accredited investors, working with private banks like Julius Baer and LGT Bank, a banking and asset management group owned by the princely family of Liechtenstein.
“We offer everything from bank accounts to crypto-bank loans, all in a regulated manner,” said Franz Bergmueller, CEO of AMINA Bank, in an interview with CoinDesk. “We also now serve these new digital asset treasury companies, and we started doing tokenization years ago – our gold token product is skyrocketing right now.”
“Positively shocked”
Austria was chosen as the European entry point for AMINA EU due to its regulatory excellence and strong commitment to investor protection, according to a press release. Austria is the European regulatory base for well-known crypto companies like Bitpanda and Bybit, while Kucoin awaits authorization there.
“We have received a full banking license from FINMA in Switzerland, so I think we can make comparisons,” Bergmueller said regarding Austria as the chosen crypto base for MiCA. “I can tell you that the FMA Vienna has the highest standards you can imagine. »
The arrival of a unified regulatory framework for crypto companies across the European Union demonstrates the growing maturity of the digital assets market. That said, the deployment of MiCA has not been without its problems. Indeed, the Austrian FMA joined French and Italian financial regulators in calling for tighter EU control over MiCA from September.
“Three years ago, I was positively shocked that Europe could agree on crypto,” Bergmueller said. “And actually, I think they haven’t done a bad job of defining everything. Of course, it’s a very young industry and there will be new technological developments. It’s a constant development.”
