Malta-born Paula Pandolfino, co-founder of the upcoming bank in Malta, said the bank has raised 10 million USD and is expected to raise 30 million USD more in the near future. The bank’s leading investors include the crypto exchange Binance (also based in Malta), the hedge fund Polychain Capital and the Czech firm Carduus Asset Management.

“Crypto will take over the world, and we need full banking services,” Pandolfino told CoinDesk. “We’re gradually learning how to wean off traditional banking and getting crypto to be that platform.”

In a press statement, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said his company will be one of the bank’s first clients when it opens. Pandolfino said that while her team is waiting for its European Union banking license, they are collecting information from their investors precisely what products and services the sector might need. “Having Binance as a seed investor,” Pandolfino said, “has allowed us to have the background to solve problems regarding cryptocurrencies.”

This also poses the question of which bank shareholder will be the first to transition from the crypto sector to the chairmanship of the bank. Pandolfino said European regulators are requiring board members to have over ten years of experience in traditional finance.

TokenPay founder Derek Capo, whose startup is a WEG Bank AG shareholder, told CoinDesk he believes this German bank that supports cryptocurrencies will always have an advantage when it comes to providing services to European crypto companies. “WEG Bank AG is already operating and has corporate crypto clients with plans for business-to-customer services,” Capo said. “Things always take longer than expected.”

According to Polychain president Joe Eagan, there are still too few crypto-friendly banks. Therefore, it is useless to worry about any single player dominating the regional market.