Singapore: Digital Assets Bank Sygnum Bags In-Principle Approval to Offer Wider Regulated Activities

The world’s first digital asset bank, Sygnum today announced it had received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) that will allow it to conduct three additional regulated activities under its CMS license.

Sygnum Receives In-principle Approval from the MAS

In another development indicating the coming of age of digital assets, Swiss-based digital assets bank Sygnum unveiled it had received in-principle approval from Singapore’s financial regulator, the MAS. With in-principle approval in hand, Sygnum will now be able to conduct three additional regulated activities under the coveted Singapore Capital Markets Services (CMS) license it already holds. Specifically, Sygnum can now leverage its existing tokenization and corporate finance capabilities to offer innovative asset managers and Web3 businesses in Singapore a full-regulated capital raising solution that covers the entire value chain. These services include:

• Providing corporate finance advisory services to companies seeking to raise capital – including the technical expertise to tokenize capital markets products and digital assets, as well as digital asset-focused legal and capital structuring advice

• Dealing in capital market products to provide access to a wider base of accredited and institutional investors in Singapore seeking fully-regulated investment opportunities into tokenized capital market products and digital assets
• Providing custodial services for asset and security tokens

For the uninitiated, the aforementioned regulated activities are essentially an extension of Sygnum’s existing CMS license that enables it to conduct fund management.

Offering Tokenization Services in Singapore

At present, Sygnum operates a tokenization platform out of Switzerland that allows assets owners to have fractional ownership of various traditional securities and digital assets – including NFTs – through tokens powered by blockchain technology. By receiving the in-principle approval, Sygnum will now be able to offer its tokenization solution to Singapore-based clients. In the future, the bank aims to offer corporate finance advice to Web3 platforms and digital creators and securitize rare digital collectibles including NFTs and metaverse assets like in-game items and virtual lands. Commenting on the development, Gerald Goh, Sygnum Co-founder and Singapore CEO, said:

“Singapore continues to be a welcoming destination for trusted financial institutions seeking to meet the growing demand for regulated digital asset financial services. “With the recent conclusion of our Series B fundraise, we are committed to accelerating the expansion of our suite of offerings in the financial hub. These three additional activities that Sygnum will be able to conduct enables us to provide asset managers and Web3 players in Singapore a new, fully-regulated platform to raise capital and attract a wider investor base by leveraging blockchain technology.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by Mathias Imbach, Sygnum Co-founder, and Group CEO. He said:

“The extension of our offerings into the Singapore market will provide investors access to a team of blockchain, legal and asset management experts, and a trusted platform with an operational track record, to invest in the latest Web3 opportunities with complete trust and peace of mind.”

It should be recalled that due to its conducive regulatory environment, Singapore has cemented itself as one of the global hotbeds for crypto. In similar news, crypto.news reported in August 2021 that DBS Bank had received regulatory approval from the MAS to offer crypto services in Singapore.