SEBA Bank appoints ex-Genesis, ex-BitMEX Amy Yu to lead APAC business of crypto bank
“I am proud to join the deeply talented team at SEBA and support the group’s continued global growth in this dynamic and expanding region. SEBA plays an important role in the industry by continuing to enlarge its presence in the region as well as becoming firmly committed to the crypto ecosystem.”
SEBA Bank has appointed Amy Yu as CEO Asia Pacific of the Switzerland-headquartered and FINMA-regulated crypto bank.
The appointment aims to strengthen SEBA’s operation and expansion across the region, with Amy Yu being initially located in Singapore although the crypto bank recently opened a Hong Kong office for its HK subsidiary.
With over fifteen years of experience in financial services spanning capital markets, trading ecosystems, and liquidity provision, she has deep expertise in both crypto and traditional banking in Asia.
UBS, Nomura, JP Morgan, BitMEX, Genesis
She joins SEBA after leading APAC sales for the now-bankrupt Genesis Trading, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group that – among other services – provided crypto lending services to users. The firm suspended withdrawals in November 2022, which also affected Gemini’s Earn programme. In January 2023, the US SEC filed a complaint against both firms.
She entered the digital asset business in 2018 by the hand of Arthur Hayes, co-founder of crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX and a classmate of hers from Wharton. BitMEX was the first crypto exchange to be charged under the Bank Secrecy Act. In August 2022, the firm settled with the CFTC by agreeing to pay a $100 million fine to resolve the issue, without admitting or denying the charges.
The abovementioned legal issues regard BitMEX and Genesis operations in the United States. Amy Yu was in charge of APAC institutional sales in both firms.
Prior to the world of crypto, Amy Yu was all-in on traditional finance, playing an instrumental role in the development of JP Morgan’s Prime Services in the APAC market, with a focus on prime, synthetics and delta-one. Her first years within the financial industry included roles at UBS and Nomura.
“Track record and expertise to capitalize on this momentum”
Franz Bergmueller, CEO of SEBA Bank, commented, “Our appointment of Amy Yu as Chief Executive Officer APAC is a key step forward in continuing our growth in the APAC market. 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.
Amy Yu, Chief Executive Officer APAC, commented, “I am proud to join the deeply talented team at SEBA and support the group’s continued global growth in this dynamic and expanding region. SEBA plays an important role in the industry by continuing to enlarge its presence in the region as well as becoming firmly committed to the crypto ecosystem.”
SEBA Bank has recently partnered with Hashkey, a regional leader in digital asset management and blockchain solutions, to accelerate the institutional adoption of digital assets in APAC and globally.
The APAC market has one of the world’s highest adoption rates of cryptocurrency, with Singapore and Hong Kong being the regional hubs for such technology and initiatives.
