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0 CommentsSEBA bank, a Switzerland-based crypto-friendly bank, has announced an NFT custody solution that gives institutional investors the ability to hold NFT collections without managing private keys themselves. SEBA says it’s the first regulated bank to offer NFT custody.
The bank will enable clients to store any Ethereum-based NFTs, which includes popular blue-chip collections like Bored Apes and CryptoPunks. However, all clients must be institutional or professional investors.
“SEBA Bank is proud to be the first regulated bank to offer NFT custody and we believe that in the coming years, digital assets, including NFTs, will gain adoption and will be increasingly accepted even by traditional finance operators,” SEBA Bank stated.
SEBA said it’s responding to a “clear demand for trusted custody solutions,” as stated in the press release. This new feature is aimed at institutional investors looking to safeguard their blue-chip tokens and “include them in the total wealth picture” their portfolios represent.
Despite the NFT market remaining in decline from its peak in late 2021 and January of this year, assets are still attracting buyers. Monthly sales, for example, topped $947 million last month.
The new SEBA offer is targeting specifically the so-called “blue-chip” portion of the market, meaning those NFT collections which are best-known and have consistently maintained a high market value such as CryptoPunks, Clone X, and Bored Apes. While trading volumes of blue-chip NFT collections dropped in Q3 2022, their values have remained steady, DappRadar data shows.
“A lot of investors who held NFTs have continued to stay in the market showing conviction despite the market downturn,” the SEBA spokesperson said.
The SEBA’s new custody service is a response to the surge in institutional investors’ interest in the NFT sector. More solid market participants also need a regulated custodian to ensure “the security and integrity of NFTs,” the representative added.
The bank will only accept ERC-721 NFTs. SEBA also supports over 16 cryptocurrencies and specializes in Bitcoin custody and lending, with a small selection of staking options.
Last month, SEBA bank launched Ethereum staking for institutional investors, addressing market demand for institutional-grade digital asset yield and staking services. Staking services enabled institutions to earn rewards on the $190 billion market cap Ethereum blockchain.
