Swiss First Licensed Crypto Bank Sygnum Plans Expansion to Singapore

Sygnum, one of the first approved crypto-focused bank by the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) in Switzerland wants to expand its cryptocurrency-related banking services to Singapore.

The bank initially obtained a conditional banking and securities dealer license from the FINMA to provide services in Switzerland. However, today, it plans to apply for a full banking license in the island nation to see its operations in Singapore once it becomes a full regulation-compliance Swiss bank.

According to the report, cryptocurrencies are quite not a thing for the Singaporeans, given that cryptocurrency-related financial services are hardly found in the country, and traditional lenders have tended to avoid digital assets as a market.

However, Sygnum wants to offer asset-management business as the first step into financial service in Singapore, as the co-founders, Mathias Imbach and Gerald Goh revealed in a phone interview that they are in talks with regulators and also petitioned for a capital markets services license.

Goh, who is also the chief strategy officer, said, “In order for us to provide a full suite of services, we need to operate as a bank” in Singapore. While the company expects to become a full bank in Switzerland this year, he added.

As reported, Sygnum will offer custody, tokenization, and brokerage services for digital assets to qualified investors and institutions, as a fully regulated bank.

It plans to issue, trade, store, and manage the digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), and equally convert fiat currencies, including Swiss Francs, Singapore and U.S. dollars and Euros back to BTC and ETH, once it becomes a Swiss bank. 

While Sygnum still waits for the final clearance and procedure to become a bank in Switzerland, the company is reportedly conducting due diligence on customers’ compliance with the anti-money laundering rules, Imbach said.

As Coinfomania reported, the Swiss regulator recently released its new regulation for blockchain payments. According to the watchdog, only FINMA supervised and licensed companies can carry out crypto-related transactions with verified customers in the country as the “inherent anonymity of blockchain technology presents increased risks.”