Sygnum, digital asset technology group, receives FINMA banking and securities dealer licence
ZURICH, 26 August 2019 – Sygnum, a digital asset technology group, has received a banking and securities dealer licence from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). This is the first time this licence has been awarded to a digital asset specialist with an independently controlled, scalable and future-proof banking solution.
Sygnum empowers digital asset banking
Sygnum delivers traditional bank-grade secure services and convenience for digital assets to its customers, including institutional and private qualified investors, corporates, banks and other financial institutions. Through full control of its banking solution, Sygnum has the agility to configure secure infrastructure, operations and future services to meet a diverse range of customer needs. The company’s solution systematically embeds digital assets into regulated banking in a way that earns institutional trust and advances the digital asset ecosystem built in partnership with Swisscom and Deutsche Börse Group.
At the solution’s core is an institutional-grade digital custody and fiat-digital asset gateway. Custody is fully integrated with a liquidity platform that offers fast and reliable execution for fiat currencies and major digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and digital CHF tokens. Sygnum’s plans for corporates include the ability to raise new capital by producing asset tokens based on existing financial assets, thereby lowering capital raising costs and improving liquidity for issuers and investors. Additionally, Sygnum offers a lombard loan facility that optimises fiat liquidity and cash flows through loans on digital assets. B2B banking services are also available to existing financial institutions to enable them to provide regulated digital asset products and services to their own customers.
Following the awarding of a MAS Capital Markets Services (CMS) licence in Singapore (1), fund management services, including a digital asset multi-manager fund, will be offered.
“Being awarded the banking and securities dealer licence from FINMA is a significant milestone, and an important step towards the institutionalisation of the digital asset economy”, emphasises Manuel Krieger, Co-Founder and CEO Switzerland. “This licence is a major landmark on our mission to empower digital asset banking by building integrated, secure products and services with seamless customer experiences. We are looking forward to taking Sygnum’s integrated digital asset banking solution to market, together with our valued customers and partners”, adds Mathias Imbach, Co-Founder and CEO Singapore.
“To date, a lack of institutional-grade custody and a truly integrated banking solution has slowed the adoption of digital assets by institutional investors”, comments Luka Müller-Studer, Co-Founder and Chairman. “Today’s licence announcement is a game-changer. By methodologically incorporating digital assets into traditional banking, and injecting much needed DLT-driven agility, Sygnum is accelerating the development of an important new asset class.”
About Sygnum
Sygnum is a digital asset technology group with a Swiss banking and securities dealer licence (2). Sygnum empowers institutional and private qualified investors, corporates, banks and other financial institutions to invest in the digital asset economy with complete trust. The company is the first Swiss digital asset specialist with an independently controlled, scalable and future-proof regulated banking solution. Sygnum’s interdisciplinary team of banking, investment and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) experts are shaping the development of a trusted digital asset ecosystem. The company is founded on Swiss and Singapore banking heritage and operates globally. To learn more, please visit Sygnum (3) at www.sygnum.com.
1) Sygnum Pte. Ltd. is in the regulatory process of obtaining a Capital Market Services (CMS) licence from Singapore regulator MAS. This license will be solely regulated by MAS in Singapore, and does not confer or imply any licencing rights to Sygnum AG in Switzerland.
2) Sygnum AG has been awarded a FINMA banking and securities dealer licence on a conditional basis. This licence will come into effect when Sygnum AG fulfils all secondary criteria specified by FINMA, and will not be operational or onboard customers until this time. This licence does not confer or imply any licencing rights to Sygnum Pte. Ltd. in Singapore.
3) Please refer to the Disclaimer at the end of this document.
Sygnum AG
Uetlibergstrasse 134a
8045 Zürich
Switzerland
Media Contact:
Marcus Balogh
T: +41 44 266 67 67
Corporate Contact:
Dom Castley
T: +41 58 508 21 01
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by Sygnum AG. This document may contain forward looking statements and may be subject to change. The opinions expressed herein are those of Sygnum AG, its affiliates and partners at the time of writing. The document is for informational purposes only and contains general material. It is for use by the recipient only. It does not constitute any advice or recommendation, an offer or invitation by or on behalf of Sygnum AG to purchase or sell assets or securities. It is not intended to be used as a general guide to investing, and should be used for informational purposes only. When making an investment decision, you should either conduct your own research and analysis or seek advice from an expert to make a calculated decision. The information and analyses contained in this document have been compiled from sources believed to be reliable. However, Sygnum AG makes no representation as to its reliability or completeness and disclaims all liability for losses arising from the use of this information.