Key Takeaways
- • Sygnum, which describes itself as the world's first digital asset bank, raised around USD30 million from investors over the past half year, with the latest round led by Japan's SBI Group, according to Hubbis.
- • Sygnum Bank AG holds a FINMA-issued Swiss universal banking licence obtained in August 2019, and Sygnum Pte Ltd holds a Monetary Authority of Singapore capital markets services licence obtained in October 2019 for fund management.
- • Sygnum Singapore CEO Gerald Goh says the firm is positioned to be the first digital assets company with both a Swiss banking licence and a Singapore asset management licence.
- • Sygnum's offerings are primarily aimed at institutional, corporate and accredited investors and span brokerage, lending, B2B banking, custody and tokenization.
- • Goh argues that asset tokenization, including tokenized securities, is likely to be the next major wave of financial innovation, citing Sygnum's tokenization of its own shares.
Summary
Sygnum describes itself as the world's first digital asset bank and a digital asset specialist with a global reach. The group operates through two regulated entities: Sygnum Bank AG in Switzerland, which holds a FINMA-issued universal banking licence granted in August 2019, and Sygnum Pte Ltd in Singapore, which holds a Monetary Authority of Singapore capital markets services licence obtained in October 2019 for fund management activities. According to Hubbis, the group has drawn around USD30 million of new money from several investors over the past half year, with the latest round led by Japan's SBI Group.
In an interview with Hubbis, Gerald Goh, CEO of Sygnum Singapore and a co-founder alongside three Swiss partners, described the firm's model as delivering a regulated, secure platform for trading and custody of digital assets and management of digital asset portfolios. Sygnum Pte Ltd currently manages a fund of hedge funds and plans to launch a venture capital fund with two strategic partners. Goh said this combination of licences makes Sygnum the first digital assets company with both a Swiss banking licence and a Singapore asset management licence. The board includes Peter Wuffli, former Group CEO of UBS, and the Advisory Council includes Ang Kong Hua, Board Director and Chair of the Investment Board at GIC.
Goh said Sygnum's products are primarily for institutional clients, corporate clients and accredited investors. Offerings include the Digital CHF (DCHF), a Swiss franc-pegged settlement token; a Multi-Manager Fund; and the Sygnum Platform Winners Index ETP. The brokerage service, offered through the Swiss entity, provides trading across major digital assets and fiat currencies, and recently launched derivative products. Lombard loans allow fiat liquidity against collateral such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Sygnum also provides B2B white-label services to other banks; Goh said the firm has arrangements with two Swiss banks and is negotiating with others in Switzerland and abroad. Custody infrastructure is co-developed with Swisscom.
Goh acknowledged regulatory, anti-money laundering and security risks associated with cryptocurrencies, while arguing that obtaining a full banking licence has allowed Sygnum to address the fiat-crypto gateway problem. He said the firm is pioneering asset tokenization, including tokenizing Sygnum's own shares and providing shareholders with tokenized representations of them. Strategic partners named include Swisscom, SIX, Singtel Innov8 and SBI Group.
In an interview with Hubbis, Gerald Goh, CEO of Sygnum Singapore and a co-founder alongside three Swiss partners, described the firm's model as delivering a regulated, secure platform for trading and custody of digital assets and management of digital asset portfolios. Sygnum Pte Ltd currently manages a fund of hedge funds and plans to launch a venture capital fund with two strategic partners. Goh said this combination of licences makes Sygnum the first digital assets company with both a Swiss banking licence and a Singapore asset management licence. The board includes Peter Wuffli, former Group CEO of UBS, and the Advisory Council includes Ang Kong Hua, Board Director and Chair of the Investment Board at GIC.
Goh said Sygnum's products are primarily for institutional clients, corporate clients and accredited investors. Offerings include the Digital CHF (DCHF), a Swiss franc-pegged settlement token; a Multi-Manager Fund; and the Sygnum Platform Winners Index ETP. The brokerage service, offered through the Swiss entity, provides trading across major digital assets and fiat currencies, and recently launched derivative products. Lombard loans allow fiat liquidity against collateral such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Sygnum also provides B2B white-label services to other banks; Goh said the firm has arrangements with two Swiss banks and is negotiating with others in Switzerland and abroad. Custody infrastructure is co-developed with Swisscom.
Goh acknowledged regulatory, anti-money laundering and security risks associated with cryptocurrencies, while arguing that obtaining a full banking licence has allowed Sygnum to address the fiat-crypto gateway problem. He said the firm is pioneering asset tokenization, including tokenizing Sygnum's own shares and providing shareholders with tokenized representations of them. Strategic partners named include Swisscom, SIX, Singtel Innov8 and SBI Group.
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