Shalini Nagarajan

Swiss crypto-focused bank SEBA has hired a former JPMorgan banker to head its Asia Pacific division.



Amy Yu previously worked within JPMorgan’s prime brokerage services division for six years. She earlier held roles in other traditional financial institutions, UBS and Nomura.&nbsp;



Yu ventured into the world of crypto in 2018, joining crypto exchange BitMEX to develop services for institutional clients. Then she became head of sales for the Asia Pacific region at Genesis, which <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/genesis-in-chapter-11-wont-insulate-silbert-winklevoss-says">filed for bankruptcy</a> in January.



Her appointment to SEBA signifies the company’s intent to expand across Asia Pacific, and she will initially be based in Singapore, according to a <a href="https://www.seba.swiss/media-and-investors/SEBA-bank-appoints-amy-yu-as-apac-ceo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">press release</a>. In November, Hong Kong became SEBA’s first strategic location to drive growth in the region, with a new office set up there. 



Yu joins the bank as someone with deep domain expertise in both crypto and traditional banking in the region, SEBA said.



“Following the recent opening of our office in Hong Kong, Yu has the successful track record and expertise to capitalize on this momentum and lead our business through the next pivotal phase of development in the region,” Franz Bergmueller, SEBA Bank’s CEO, said in a statement.



Backed by Swiss wealth management group Julius Baer and founded in April 2018, SEBA operates a universal suite of regulated banking services in the digital economy. Ahead of the Merge last year, the bank implemented <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/seba-bank-enables-ether-staking-as-merge-nears">ether staking services</a> for large clients.



Yu acknowledged the crypto industry’s troubles of last year in an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-07/crypto-bank-seba-hires-ex-jpmorgan-banker-as-asia-pacific-ceo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interview</a> with Bloomberg, saying there are lessons to be learned from the recent crisis.



The bank currently has just three staff members in Singapore, and future hiring will depend on how licensing goes, she added.



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Ex-JPMorgan Banker Hired as Swiss Crypto Bank’s APAC Head

Jack Kubinec

<div id="highlights-block_62d08527198b8" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>50% of Latin American respondents said crypto will have a massive impact on finance and society</li>
 <li>Asian consumers are up to three times more likely to purchase NFTs for emotional benefits</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Latin America and the Asia Pacific region are bullish on crypto, according to a <a href="https://ripple.com/reports/New-Value-Crypto-Trends-in-Business-and-Beyond-2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new report </a>from Ripple.



The regions agree that digital currency will impact society, the survey found, but the data showed two distinctions in the regions’ support.



Latin Americans are more interested in using crypto for business transactions, while respondents from the Asia Pacific region are most likely to buy virtual items for “emotional benefits.”



The report, released Thursday, found that 74% of Latin Americans are more likely to transact with businesses that accept crypto, compared with just 41% in Europeans. This demand is increasingly being met by businesses in Latin America — in a <a href="https://mastercardcontentexchange.com/news/latin-america/en/newsroom/press-releases/pr-en/2022/june/latin-america-s-crypto-conquest-is-driven-by-consumers-needs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">separate survey</a>, more than half of Latin American respondents <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/survey-more-than-half-of-latin-americans-have-paid-with-crypto/#:~:text=El%20Salvador%20became%20the%20first,in%20bitcoin%20and%20other%20cryptocurrencies." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> having already paid for goods and services using crypto.



While Latin Americans most strongly favored crypto’s economic benefits, Asian respondents had more interest in emotional benefits from virtual assets. According to the report, Asian consumers were up to three times more likely to purchase an NFT to commemorate an important moment than respondents from other regions.



Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Taiwan lead the world in <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1265980/nft-online-search-interest-country/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">overall NFT (non-fungible token) interest</a>, and the Philippines dominated <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1314090/axie-infinity-players-by-country/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Axie Infinity’s user base</a> during its 2021 bull run, according to data from Statista.



Fifty percent of Latin American respondents said crypto will have a “massive impact” on finance and society, compared with 35% in Europe. The study showed the Middle East and North Africa generally falling between bullish Latin America and bearish Europe on crypto sentiment.



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Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



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asia pacific