Mauritius crypto investment bank gets node from country’s financial regulator

Fincross International, a new cryptocurrency investment bank based in Mauritius, has received an approval in principal for an investment banking license from the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius (FSC).

This is according to a press release from the startup, which also said that the bank is hoping to integrate cryptocurrencies into investment banking come 2019. The startup will introduce, in ealry 2019, a host of financial services including cryptocurrency exchange, cryptocurrency custody, a 24/7 trade desk, alpha and beta cryptocurrency funds, a smart contract builder, crypto research and reporting, and robo advisory services. These will target the financial and tokenized assets markets for institutional, corporate, intermediary and private clients.

Their platform will also use AI-powered trading tools to provide clients with a consistently reliable price and volatility prediction functionality.

By launching a regulated service and a cryptocurrency custody service, the firm aims to deal with problems that create a gap between the crypto world and the traditional world, according to the CEO of Fincross International, Eddy Abramo. He said these are the biggest challenges faced by institutions entering the crypto markets.

Currently, there is $7.11 billion worth of cryptocurrencies and most (48 percent) are held as venture capital, 48 percent as hedge funds and 3 percent in private equity.

Clients will be able to use the platform to trade on a peer-to-peer basis with instant settlement but there will be a whitelisted ecosystem of KYC and AML compliance for fiat and crypto services. Customers will also be able to carry out payments or transfers in fiat and crypto, buy a fund, trade crypto and traditional assets, and view the overall performance of their investments.

This will be happening in addition to more sophisticated solutions such as launching regulation-enforced token offerings or debt finance smart contracts, via Fincross International’s DBL.

Deputy CEO of Fincross International Henry James said the platform will serve as a secure and legitimate gateway for customers to "invest and manage their investment portfolio, while gaining deeper access to all aspects of the crypto market and economy.”

The startup, which has headquarters in UAE, will hold a fundraising round for private capital and then an ICO in early 2019 to raise capital early next year. The FNX token will be a utility token for the bank’s distributed banking ledger, and provide holders the priority access to products and discount on associated fees.

The bank will be led by Société Générale’s former Middle East and Africa CEO, Eddy Abramo, with Ernst & Young on the advisory board, while co-founders Henry James and Esfandiar Lagevardi will serve as the project's debut CEO and research head, respectively.