Franz Bergmueller

CEO, SEBA Bank

Search every verified Franz Bergmueller interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Franz Bergmueller, CEO of Amina Bank (formerly SEBA Bank), spoke at TOKEN2049 Dubai in May 2025, arguing that crypto banks are needed to address problems faced by crypto-native individuals and companies. He said that many people are "sick and tired of losing money all the time due to hacks and failures like FTX" and are turning to crypto banks for institutional-grade custody. Bergmueller stated that hodlers seek crypto-backed loans, which he said have seen demand rise by "almost 1000%" in two years, and that traditional banks often reject crypto companies, citing a UK statistic that "50% of companies have been rejected or even lost their banking account." He described stablecoins as a "killer use case" requiring proper bank reserve management. In April 2025, Bergmueller hosted former Member of the European Parliament Bernhard Zimniok on his talk show "Unterlauser Gespräche," where Zimniok criticized the European Union as a "huge milking cow" and described Europe as "political dwarfs." Bergmueller has previously stated that SEBA Bank was "founded to help people actually use cryptocurrencies" and that the industry needs to "grow up" before mass adoption, emphasizing the importance of regulation, education, and cybersecurity.