After Switzerland, crypto firm Sygnum now seeks banking license in Singapore

Startups • August 28, 2019, 5:25AM EDT

After winning a banking license in Switzerland, cryptocurrency firm Sygnum is now seeking such a license in Singapore as well.

Sygnum has initiated talks with regulators for a capital markets services license in the island nation, co-founders Mathias Imbach and Gerald Goh told Bloomberg in an interview published Wednesday. “In order for us to provide a full suite of services, we need to operate as a bank” in Singapore, Goh said.

Just earlier this week, Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) granted a banking and securities dealers’ license to Sygnum. At the time, the firm also revealed plans for a license in Singapore, saying it will allow offering fund management services, including a digital asset multi-manager fund.

With FINMA's license in place, Sygnum is now transitioning to become a full bank in Switzerland this year. One becoming a Swiss bank, Sygnum will be able to issue, store, trade and manage cryptocurrencies bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), and convert fiat currencies such as Swiss francs, Singapore and U.S. dollars and euros into the two cryptocurrencies, per the Bloomberg report.

Sygnum will also offer custody, brokerage and tokenization services for cryptocurrencies to qualified investors and institutions. The firm has raised about 60 million Swiss francs (~$61 million) to date, which are sufficient for the next few years, Imbach told the news source.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.