Who says institutions don't do crypto?

SEBA is a Swiss startup that raised over 100 million dollars in the end of 2018 (not exactly bull market either)

Their goal:

Build a bank offering cryptocurrency services to companies and investors while extending traditional banking services to firms in the new industry.

“SEBA wants to bridge the gap between traditional banking and the new world of crypto,”

Investors include Swiss-based BlackRiver Asset Management and Hong Kong-based Summer Capital, among other backers from Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong.

And apparently one of those investors that stayed out of the limelight was Julius Baer. But the latest press release changes that.

For most common people this name does not ring a bell but this is a traditional private bank named after Swiss banker Julius Bär. It provides investment management, real estate financing, wealth management, and select offerings in sales and trading located in more than 20 countries and 5300 staff.

The group manages assets for private clients from all over the world mainly in wealth management and investment consultancy. The bank provides products via its open architecture platform as well as securities and foreign exchange trading.

The shares of the Julius Baer Group are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and form part of the Swiss Market Index (SMI) of the 20 largest and most liquid Swiss stocks.

As you can see this no small fish especially where private banks are concerned. This is another step forward bringing big money into crypto. They are not out there like VC's investing in DApps (something most VC's do not do either) but they are helping build the foundation of a new kind of economy.

An hybrid economy where banks do play a role (something true cypherpunks will not like)