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Sygnum, Switzerland’s first licensed cryptocurrency bank, plans Singapore entry
- Crypto firm Sygnum plans to apply for a banking licence in the island nation
- The company also will offer brokerage and tokenisation services for digital assets to qualified investors
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Cryptocurrency-related financial services are hard to find in Singapore, as digital assets are a market traditional lenders have tended to avoid. Sygnum, one of the first crypto companies to obtain a conditional banking and securities dealer license from Swiss regulators, is hoping to fill that gap.
Sygnum, which is based in both Switzerland and Singapore, plans to apply for a banking licence in the island nation. It has started talking with regulators and petitioned for a capital markets services licence, which will allow the firm to offer asset-management business as a first step into financial services, co-founders Mathias Imbach and Gerald Goh said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
“In order for us to provide a full suite of services, we need to operate as a bank” in Singapore, said Goh. After the company becomes a full bank in Switzerland, a transition expected this year, it will be able to apply for a traditional banking licence in the city state, he said.
Once it fulfils the final criteria to become a Swiss bank, the company will be able to issue, store, trade and manage the digital assets bitcoin and ethereum, and convert fiat currencies such as Swiss francs, Singapore and US dollars and euros into the two cryptocurrencies.
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The company also will offer custody, brokerage and tokenisation services for digital assets to qualified investors and institutions.
While the volume of bitcoin trading has surged and attention to digital assets has jumped with the likes of Facebook’s proposed Libra coin, regulation of the industry is sporadic and in its infancy.
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Sygnum has been raising money and getting backing from established players as it works to get Singapore’s approval.
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