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Sygnum Bank Becomes the First Bank to Provide ETH 2.0 Pledge Service

The world’s first digital asset bank Sygnum Bank founded in Swiss and Singapore heritage, announced the first bank to accept Ethereum 2.0.

Sygnum said customers could pledge Ethereum through Sygnum’s banking platform and safely store the Ethereum in their personal accounts. At present, it generates up to a 7% yield every year.

As the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $272,846,301,751, Ethereum is the basic network on which most decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols operate.

The rapid growth of the Defi market also proves that choosing Ethereum is a compelling choice for investors. According to DeFi pulse data, the DeFi sector’s total lock-up volume has more than tripled since last year. The current total lock-up value is as high as $55.45 billion.

The head of Business Units at Sygnum Bank, Thomas Eichenberger, said that:

“Ethereum is the second-largest blockchain protocol, and Ethereum staking is a core element for digital asset portfolios which can now be accessed in a convenient, secure, and regulated setting. This further expands Sygnum’s offering of attractive, regulated yield generating products to meet the needs of clients to accumulate other forms of return in addition to capital appreciation.”

On October 31, 2019, Sygnum started operating digital markets services in the country, approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Prior to providing Ethereum, Sygnum has launched a staking service for Tezos, a promising new blockchain-based platform for building smart contracts and decentralised applications (dApps), in November 2020. In the same month, Sygnum Bank, Swiss regulated digital asset bank, has unveiled a stablecoin dubbed Sygnum Digital CHF (DCHF) – a cryptocurrency pegged to the Swiss Franc. It is the first stablecoin revealed by a regulated Swiss bank.

Swiss Digital Asset Bank Sygnum Partnered with Artemundi to Issue Picasso NFT Painting for $6K per Share

The Swiss bank of digital asset management, Sygnum, announced that it has partnered with industry-leading art investment company Artemundi to sell the ownership stake in Pablo Picasso’s NFT painting at $6,000 per share.

According to a report by Reuters on Thursday, the painting sold this time entitled “Fillette au beret”, which was innovated in 1964. Last time, the art piece was sold by an auction house called Uppsala Auktionskammare for 21.4 million Swedish Kronor for approximately $2.48 million in 2016.

This time, this painting is tokenised through blockchain technology so that all kinds of buyers can participate in the process of owning the masterpiece. The subscription is expected to start at the end of July, with a total value of approximately 4 million Swiss francs ($3.68 million).

Artemundi company said that:

“This marks the first time the ownership rights in a Picasso, or any artwork, are being broadcast onto the public blockchain by a regulated bank.”

The transaction will be settled in Swiss francs (CHF) using Sygnum’s local Swiss Franc stable currency, DCHF, protected by Swiss law.

This is not the first time that the master’s outstanding paintings to be sold in NFT format. Crypto art being bought and sold as ERC-721 non-fungible tokens (NFT) has been making headlines based on the record-breaking sales being witnessed.

On September 21 of 2020, a crypto art piece had marked the first time and had been bought for at least $100,000, following the unprecedented sale of “Matt Kane’s Right Place & Right Time” on Async. art. This served as a signal to show the untapped potential in this emerging market.

In addition, the world’s first digital asset bank Sygnum Bank founded in Swiss and Singapore heritage announced to be the first bank accepting Ethereum 2.0 as reported by Blockchain.News on July 7.

Customers of Sygnum Bank could pledge Ethereum through Sygnum’s banking platform and safely store the Ethereum in their personal accounts. At present, it generates up to a 7% yield every year.

SBI, Sygnum, and Azimut Jointly Established a $75M Venture Capital Fund for Crypto Startups

Japanese financial giant SBI Group, Swiss bank of digital asset management Sygnum, and Italy’s Azimut Group jointly raised a $75 million venture capital fund in Singapore Thursday, aiming to invest in capable start-up companies in the digital asset field.

This new fund company brought together the capital of these three companies with senior experience in the field of digital assets and registered as a variable capital company.

SBI Venture Capital will assume the management position of the fund and will lock the investment target to focus on the pre-A round and A round companies who aim at the development of blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) infrastructure, decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions, and regulatory technology tools.

The digital asset economy is expected to flourish in various fields in the future. According to the official announcement, it is expected that by 2027, 10% of the global GDP will use DLT infrastructure.

From SBI Ven Capital CEO and Managing Director Lin Ryosuke Hayashi said:

“DLT and digital assets are at the inflection point of mainstream adoption, and they have the potential to reduce inefficiencies and unlock new capabilities across several sectors, such as financial services and supply chain management. Amidst this backdrop, we are excited to launch this latest venture capital focused fund offering with our partners, Sygnum and Azimut.”

Statistics show that the amount of venture capital flowing into the digital asset industry this year has increased from about 5% of the total last year to 6%.

In the first half of 2021 alone, global investment in blockchain/DLT and cryptocurrency companies has exceeded 17 billion U.S. dollars, a five-fold increase from 2019.

All kinds of data indicate that the digital asset industry has entered a rapid growth in the form of exponential. The fund created by the three companies will also participate in the trend of maintaining a wide range of diversification in global investment opportunities

As reported by Blockchain.News on September 3, the Japanese Financial Giant SBI Group stated that it will launch its first cryptocurrency fund in Japan before the end of November this year to provide Japanese investors with a more diverse portfolio.

Swiss Retail Bank to Offer Cryptocurrency Services

PostFinance, a retail bank owned by the Swiss government, has announced plans to offer its customers cryptocurrency trading and storage services. The bank has partnered with local cryptocurrency bank Sygnum to provide regulated digital asset banking services. Customers will be able to buy, store, and sell major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether.

The partnership with Sygnum enables PostFinance to offer these services through Sygnum’s institutional business-to-business platform. This platform provides banks with market entry to regulated and compliant digital products, including a range of cryptocurrencies. The B2B network includes more than 15 partner banks and supports revenue-generating services like staking.

PostFinance’s move into the cryptocurrency market comes amid growing interest and adoption of digital assets worldwide. With the rise of blockchain technology and the decentralization of finance, many traditional financial institutions are exploring ways to integrate cryptocurrencies into their offerings. PostFinance’s partnership with Sygnum positions the bank to provide its customers with access to the growing cryptocurrency market.

As a fully government-owned bank, PostFinance is subject to strict regulatory requirements. The partnership with Sygnum ensures that the bank’s cryptocurrency services are fully compliant with local regulations, providing customers with a secure and regulated platform for trading and storing digital assets.

The collaboration with Sygnum also provides PostFinance with access to the expertise and technology of a leading player in the cryptocurrency space. Sygnum is a licensed Swiss bank that offers a range of institutional-grade cryptocurrency services, including custody, trading, and tokenization. With its deep experience in the cryptocurrency market, Sygnum is well-positioned to provide PostFinance with the tools and support needed to offer its customers cutting-edge digital asset services.

In summary, PostFinance’s partnership with Sygnum represents a significant step forward for the bank as it seeks to enter the cryptocurrency market. With the ability to offer customers regulated cryptocurrency trading and storage services, PostFinance is well-positioned to capture a share of the growing digital asset market. By leveraging the expertise and technology of Sygnum, PostFinance can provide its customers with a secure and compliant platform for buying, selling, and storing digital assets, including Bitcoin and Ether.

Sygnum Pioneers Treasury Tokenization with USD 50M Fidelity MMF Investment

Sygnum, a prominent digital asset banking group, has announced the tokenization of USD 50 million of Matter Labs’ treasury reserves. This strategic initiative has been facilitated through an investment in Fidelity International’s USD 6.9 billion Institutional Liquidity Fund (ILF), marking a significant advance in the integration of blockchain technology with conventional financial products.

Matter Labs, renowned for its pioneering work in scaling Ethereum through zk-rollup technology, has taken this step as part of its broader strategy to transition its treasury reserves onto the blockchain. The on-chain representation of Fidelity’s ILF units via Sygnum-issued security tokens provides a secure and transparent “Proof-of-Reserves”, aligning with Matter Labs’ commitment to transparency and institutional-grade security.

This project is the first of its kind to utilize Sygnum’s multi-chain tokenization solution, converging the capabilities of traditional securities with blockchain’s distinct advantages. By tokenizing a portion of the investment in Fidelity’s money market fund, Sygnum is not only reinforcing the Crypto-TradFi nexus but also laying the groundwork for a fully tokenized financial ecosystem.

Jürg Rimle, Country Head Switzerland at Fidelity International, shared his enthusiasm for the partnership with Sygnum Bank, highlighting the increased access it provides to professional and institutional investors and underscoring the strengthening bridge between digital asset economies and traditional finance.

Fatmire Bekiri, Head of Tokenisation at Sygnum, elaborated on the collaboration’s potential, emphasizing the combined strengths of blockchain technology and the expertise of a Tier 1 global investment manager. The collaboration illustrates Sygnum’s mission to meld the crypto space with traditional finance (Trad-Fi) sectors to forge the future of on-chain finance.

Marco Cora, SVP of Business and Operations at Matter Labs, expressed the firm’s eagerness to work with Sygnum in showcasing the institutional-grade security of the zkSync blockchain. The move to tokenize USD 50 million of their treasury reserves underlines Matter Labs’ dedication to leveraging blockchain technology for enhanced investor confidence and transparency.

The rising trend of Real World Assets (RWA) tokenization, which saw a 74% increase in 2023 to USD 2.5 billion, speaks to the growing interest and confidence in the tokenization of traditional assets. The benefits, such as improved liquidity, accessibility, and the creation of new financial products, are catalyzing a shift towards more efficient and transparent financial markets.

Sygnum, with a banking license in Switzerland and licenses in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and Luxembourg, is positioning itself as a leader in the digital asset banking sphere. The firm’s vision of “Future Finance” is rooted in a legacy of Swiss and Singapore heritage, bridging the gap between the traditional and digital asset economies.

As the digital asset space continues to evolve, the tokenization of Matter Labs’ treasury reserves via Sygnum’s platform is a testament to the potential for innovative financial solutions that leverage blockchain technology. It is a step towards a future where digital and traditional financial services are no longer distinct, but rather, seamlessly integrated.