Sygnum and SEBA granted digital asset bank licenses

Sygnum has become the first fintech company of digital assets to be awarded a banking and securities dealer license by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). This was reported in a press release from the financial service provider with headquarters in Zurich and Singapore. Digital assets are consequently being methodologically incorporated into traditional banking in Switzerland for the first time. In March, Deutsche Börse, Swisscom and Sygnum announced that they would be building a trusted digital asset ecosystem in Switzerland. 

This license is now enabling Sygnum to systematically embed digital assets into regulated banking. Through full control of its banking solution, the digital asset company has the agility to configure secure infrastructure, operations and services. Going forward, Sygnum’s portfolio includes comprehensive banking services such as custody, deposits, credit and lending.  Capital issuance via tokenization, brokerage and asset management will also be offered within the digital asset ecosystem.

“To date, a lack of institutional-grade custody and a truly integrated banking solution has slowed the adoption of digital assets by institutional investors,” commented Luka Müller-Studer, Co-Founder and Chairman of Sygnum. “Today’s license announcement is a game-changer. By methodologically incorporating digital assets into traditional banking, and injecting much needed DLT-driven agility, Sygnum is accelerating the development of an important new asset class.”

“Being awarded the banking and securities dealer license from FINMA is a significant milestone, and an important step towards the institutionalization of the digital asset economy”, emphasized Manuel Krieger, Co-Founder and CEO Switzerland. “We are looking forward to taking Sygnum’s integrated digital asset banking solution to market, together with our valued customers and partners,” added Mathias Imbach, Co-Founder and CEO Singapore.

A banking license was also granted to SEBA, just 17 months since the financial services provider focusing on digital assets was founded. SEBA markets itself as “a perfect symbiosis of technology, blockchain and banking”. It has entered into a partnership with Julius Baer. The startup reported in a press release that the official go-live of banking operations is expected to take place in early October 2019. The cooperation with Julius Baer will also enter into force at this time.