<strong>Seba Bank Launches NFT Custody, BitMEX CEO Steps Down, 63% Of Ethereum Blocks OFAC Compliant&nbsp;</strong>

Seba Bank Launches NFT Custody

Seba Bank, a Swiss-based crypto bank, is launching NFT custody in the middle of the crypto market downturn. The bank will allow retail and institutional clients to hold tokens from Ethereum-based NFT collections like Bored Apes and CryptoPunks.

"We believe that in the coming years, digital assets, including NFTs, will gain adoption and will be increasingly accepted even by traditional finance operators," said Urs Bernegger, co-head of markets and investment solutions at Seba Bank.

Seba Bank is the first regulated bank to offer NFT custody and expresses confidence in a bright future for NFTs. There is no marketplace integration with Seba Bank yet. The company will also perform due diligence at the client's request before providing custody for a certain NFT or not.

BitMEX CEO Steps Down

Alexander Hoeptner is the latest to join the list of crypto resignations as he steps down from his CEO position at BitMEX. The company named Stephan Lutz, the current CFO, as Interim CEO as Hoeptner leaves “with immediate effect.” 

"Together with the rest of the management team and our talented staff members, I will also make sure that BitMEX continues to deliver great, innovative crypto trading products and a secure and stable trading environment for our clients," Lutz told Decrypt in an email.

Lutz will remain in his position as CFO, according to the company. Heoptner, who was previously CEO of the German stock exchange Borse Stuttgart GmbH, joined BitMEX in 2020. Earlier this month, Hoeptner stated that BitMEX will issue its native token, BMEX, before the end of the year.

63% Of Ethereum Blocks OFAC Compliant 

After the US Treasury Department sanctioned Tornado Cash, the popularity of Maximal Extracted Value (MEV) services has risen. Currently, 63% of Ethereum transaction blocks are now OFAC-compliant

Since The Merge, an increasing number of participants in the proof of stake have chosen to receive validation incentives through service providers. A rising number of blocks are now OFAC-compliant because of this trend's consolidation and the supremacy of Flashbots.