Franz Bergmueller - Who Needs a Crypto Bank Anyway? - TOKEN2049 Dubai 2025

Hey, first of all, thanks so much for attending. It's pretty hot. I just flew in yesterday from Germany. Thank you for your dedication. So yes, I'm going to answer the question: who needs a crypto bank anyway? And you know, it all started. I was interested in blockchain, the technology, and also what we can do in terms of financial services. Crypto, obviously as a new asset class, years ago. But then in '21, right, I had a chat with a couple of friends and we were wondering who needs a crypto bank, because everybody read the Bitcoin white paper, the 2008 one, right? There is no room for middlemen or banks to remove the financial institutions in between. So we all were wondering. But then I did a step that was unheard of: I actually joined a crypto bank in '22, right? And then still people ask me the same question. But fast forward to 2025, not so often anymore. And why is it? Instead of me answering the question, I lead you, Ali, to tell you what crypto natives, my clients, the industry people are telling me why there is a need for a crypto bank. So let's start first of all. And you know all these examples, right? The people I speak to, they are just sick and tired of losing money all the time. You know all these hacks in early '22. Everybody kept on telling me FTX is extremely cool in terms of UI, software, the offerings, and everything. But you know, we all experienced what happened later on, right? So people are sick and tired of losing money. And you know, look at those numbers. It's not getting any better. The number of hacks, right, the volume, right? Our industry is just losing trust. And this is not something we can do, right? To lose trust. This is the one big reason why people are more and more turning to crypto banks. By the way, if I'm using the term crypto bank, I don't mean traditional banks that all of a sudden do a little bit in crypto, some products here and there. That's not what I mean. What I am talking about are the handful of global banks that are 100% dedicated to crypto. These are the crypto banks I'm talking about. But let's go on. You know, there are more reasons why people are more and more turning to crypto banks. The next one is the HODLers. Especially the HODLers are looking for the safest way of custody, institutional grade custody. What it is, you can see on the right side of my slide. It's secure, it's segregated, compliant, controlled, and even comes with an insurance coverage. Like, people are much more open now to use it. Why is that? Because they want to protect their wealth, obviously, but also themselves. Many, many people are really, really worried, right? And then also their families. I hear that all the time: I have no idea, Franz, if my partner, my wife, my significant other could handle my private keys and all the tech setup, right? So please help me, what can I do? Another reason why people are turning to crypto banks. And then the next one is so simple, right? Because they need to pay their bills. The bridge between what we call the fiat money, the dirham, the dollars, the euros, right, and coins and tokens is so fundamental for them. At the end, they want to buy a real estate, you know, buy the next supercar, pay their taxes, or do payments for the crypto companies. This is super relevant for them, right? And here's a little number for you. It's just the fact that it's so hard to pay, to use your coins and tokens to pay in e-commerce space, for example. It's below 1%. So the bridges between coins and tokens and fiat are really in high demand here. And this one is shocking. This one is shocking. I'm moving all the time. I got a signal here, right? I need to stand in the shadow. This one is shocking. So many people tell me the same: coming back from a traditional bank and they use exactly the same words: they treated me like a criminal. They cannot understand my source of wealth because I have 100% in coins and tokens, right? They don't understand me. I can't even get a bank account, right? That's why people are coming to crypto banks. For traditional banks, these people are naturally high risk, right? And a big problem. But not for the crypto banks. So I really hate these sentences: they treated me like a criminal. But not only the individuals, but also their companies. All these Web3 companies, crypto companies are crying out for support from a crypto bank. Yeah, here's a number from the UK: 50% of the companies have been rejected or even have lost their banking account, right? And in the US, it's not getting any better. The US is still debanked, especially for crypto companies, right? Without explanation, people are losing their accounts here. And then another phenomenon, yeah, is you know, we have a lot of HODLers, of course, we're talking to, and they all have these stories like 10 years ago, you know, I paid a bike with four Bitcoin or paid a dinner. They just don't do that anymore. They are here for the long term. They are really believing in this industry. I never again, so ouch, right? I don't want to do this again, Franz. Can you help me? And as this little guy says, right, HODL I must. For some, it's more than a strategy, it's a culture. So what can they do, right? They ask for credits. I want to keep my coins and tokens, you know. Can a crypto bank give me like a crypto-backed loan? Of course we can, right? Crypto banks can do this. And then they get the liquidity to do whatever they need to do. For example, they invest in companies. And of course, there's a chance to use DeFi companies. But you know what? There's a big trend to regulated crypto banks. You know, it's hard to get data, but everything we know, all our data is showing the demand for crypto bank loans skyrocketed in the last two years. Almost 1,000%, 964%, right? There is huge demand out there. People are crying out for that. Next one, not to forget the institutional customers, right? They come into our space now. They are used to banks. They basically want to work with crypto banks, right? And here are two numbers that are relevant: 85% increased their allocation to digital assets last year, and 59% of them want to at least allocate 5% or more, right? These people need proper regulation and proper banking to help them. And the whales, the big ones, right? They are telling me, Franz, I need liquidity. I want to invest into longevity, into AI, and other things. I want to buy real estate. Some of them really want to also diversify into securities all of a sudden, right? Therefore, they are coming to crypto banks. Stablecoins. For me, stablecoins are a killer use case of the future, not only for the crypto people, right? We are all used to stablecoins, but more and more I see real world adoption. You know, people especially in high inflation countries fleeing into stablecoins. But for stablecoins to be accepted in the masses, to be mass adoption, right? For stablecoins, we need proper banks to do the reserve management and many other things. We're working together with stablecoin issuers a lot. And then finally, I'll make it short. The presentation promised crypto banks. And again, I tell you, the real ones, the few ones, the handful that exist, are a natural part of our ecosystem here. And what we are helping is connect the dots between the DeFi companies, the CeFi companies, and the TradFi companies. I'm Franz, we are Amina Bank, one of the real crypto banks, and we provide crypto banking simplified. And of course, disclaimer: Amina holds licenses in Switzerland, in Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong, but not yet in Dubai. But therefore, I presented today what I hear all the time from my clients and from the people in the market. Thank you so much.