Sygnum Bank Review 2025

Key Features

What is Sygnum Bank?

Sygnum Bank is a global digital asset banking group that blends traditional finance with cryptocurrencies. Founded on Swiss and Singaporean heritage, the bank’s mission is to empower individuals, institutions, and financial intermediaries to own, trade, and invest in cryptocurrencies with full trust and confidence.

Sygnum became the world’s first regulated digital asset bank in 2019, achieving this through licenses from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This allowed Sygnum to operate across two of the world’s leading financial hubs – Switzerland and Singapore.

With over 1,900 clients and more than CHF 4 billion in assets under administration, Sygnum is at the forefront of digital asset revolution. The bank’s services include professional trading, staking, lending, asset management, and tokenization through the use of blockchain technology and institutional-grade infrastructure. Sygnum aims to future-proof its clients’ investments strategies while adhering to the highest regulatory standards. 

Sygnum seeks to bridge the gap between traditional financial markets and the digital asset economy. This report explores the bank’s key offerings, compliance strategies, and its continued contributions to the cryptocurrency landscape.

Sygnum’s Role in Crypto

Sygnum Bank plays a vital role in the future of crypto by providing trusted, secure, and fully regulated digital asset banking services. Sygnum was designed from its inception to integrate the best practices of traditional finance through blockchain. Being the first regulated digital asset bank to do so, Sygnum has the foundation to operate with complete transparency, earning the trust of institutional and accredited investors worldwide/

Regulated Digital Asset Banking Group

At the heart of Sygnum’s success is its regulatory framework. It secured banking license from FINMA, Capital Markets Services (CMS), and MAS to meet the highest standards of financial regulation. These licenses grant Sygnum the ability to offer a range of banking services, while providing peace of mind to its clients who require regulatory compliance.

Sygnum continued to expand its global reach, recently securing regulatory approval to operate in the European Union through its registration in Liechtenstein. This allows it to play an influential role in the European digital asset markets, particularly as the EU implements the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. 

Sygnum’s dual headquarters in Zurich and Singapore place it at the intersection of two of the world’s leading financial hubs. This allows the bank to service clients across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, while benefiting from Switzerland’s long-standing reputation for financial stability and Singapore’s leadership in financial technology innovation. It has built a diverse global client base that includes high-net-worth individuals.

The bank actively works to bridge tradfi with cryptocurrencies through initiatives like tokenization, staking, and lending – all done in a very seamless manner. It is worth noting that the level of compliance that Sygnum displays has historically been a challenge for other banks as broader adoption of cryptocurrencies is still on the works. 

Its vision of “Future Finance” is one where digital assets are integrated in the broader financial landscape, which enables more participants to benefit from the growth and innovation of blockchain technology.

Key Products and Services

Digital Asset Banking

Sygnum provides the full package of banking services for digital assets, including trading, staking, custody, lending, and much more. Clients can build, manage, and diversify their digital asset portfolios with complete trust. 

Sygnum’s trading platform allows clients to access a wide range of digital assets 24/7. Clients can trade popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), and many others against major fiat currencies like USD, CHF, EUR, and SGD. The platform is designed for professional investors, offering deep liquidity, competitive spreads, and integration with advanced trading features.

Clients benefit from:

• Best-price execution through global OTC providers.
• 24/7 trading infrastructure, allowing orders to be placed or canceled at any time.
• Access to more than 30 digital assets and various custom-made structured products.

For institutional clients, Sygnum offers OTC crypto options, allowing them to construct customized strategies such as hedging portfolios, leveraging exposure, or generating additional yield. Clients can take long or short positions in a variety of digital assets through bespoke put and call options.

Sygnum enables clients to earn passive income by staking assets on Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks such as Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Tezos (XTZ), and Internet Computer (ICP). Staking is an environmentally friendly way to participate in network security while earning yields that range between 4% to 10% annually, depending on the asset.

Key benefits of Sygnum’s staking services include:

• Integrated staking and custody on a secure, institutional-grade platform.
• Protection of staked assets under Swiss-regulated custody.
• Convenient access to staking through Sygnum’s e-banking portal.

Sygnum’s institutional-grade multi-level custody solution offers clients the highest levels of asset protection. Assets are held off-balance sheet, meaning that they are fully ring-fenced from Sygnum’s own assets and protected from counterparty risks.

Clients enjoy:

• Instant access to their assets 24/7 for trading, staking, or lending.
• Multi-party computation (MPC) technology, which adds an extra layer of security by splitting private keys among multiple parties.
• Swiss-regulated custody services that meet ISAE 3000 and ISAE 3402 standards for security and audit compliance.

Sygnum offers cost-efficient crypto-backed lending solutions that enable clients to unlock liquidity while retaining ownership of their digital assets. Clients can use assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC as collateral to access credit lines, allowing them to reinvest or fund new projects without liquidating their holdings.

Additionally, Sygnum provides hashrate-backed loans for green crypto miners, a unique product aimed at supporting the transition to a more sustainable economy. This financing solution caters to carbon-neutral crypto miners.

Last but not least, Sygnum’s credit card integrates crypto assets with fiat payments, allowing clients to pay seamlessly in CHF, EUR, and USD. It offers both personal and corporate card options with a range of benefits, such as rewards points, insurance coverage, and airport lounge access. Sygnum also provides corporate cards with advanced features for expense management, tailored for business needs.

B2B Banking Solutions

Sygnum’s B2B banking solutions provide modular and scalable services for banks and financial institutions looking to expand into the digital asset space. 

Key features include:

• Secure digital asset custody with off-balance sheet protection.
• 24/7 trading infrastructure integrated with APIs for scalability.
• Staking services that generate yield on client assets while maintaining security.
• Lending solutions, including crypto-collateralized loans.
• Crypto compliance and RegTech services, which include Sygnum’s proprietary C-AML tool for transaction monitoring, covering regulatory needs like the FATF crypto travel rule.

Sygnum’s plug-and-play B2B platform allows banks to go live with crypto services within 60 days. Successful partnerships with institutions like PostFinance and Zuger Kantonalbank demonstrate the platform’s ability to onboard partners and enable them to provide comprehensive crypto services.

Asset Management

Sygnum offers both passive and active investment strategies that give clients exposure to the digital asset economy. These products cater to institutional and accredited investors looking to diversify their portfolios with digital assets.

• Yield Core AMC: This product focuses on generating yield in the digital asset space through strategies like lending, funding arbitrage, and liquidity provisioning. It is designed for investors seeking a low-risk, diversified portfolio with minimal exposure to market volatility.
• Digital Asset Multi-Manager Fund: This fund-of-funds approach allows investors to gain access to top-tier digital asset managers through a single vehicle. The fund targets alpha generation through a variety of active strategies in the crypto markets.
• Venture Capital: Sygnum’s Digital Asset Opportunity Fund provides exposure to early-stage startups building tomorrow’s blockchain ecosystem. Investors can access equity and token-based opportunities through this long-term capital commitment.

Tokenization

Sygnum is a leader in asset tokenization, enabling issuers to create fractionalized ownership opportunities across a variety of asset classes. Tokenization offers enhanced liquidity, lower entry barriers, and new ways to invest in traditionally illiquid assets. Desygnate is Sygnum’s primary market issuance platform, which simplifies the legal and financial structuring of tokenized assets. SygnEx is a secondary market trading platform for tokenized assets, providing increased liquidity and exit opportunities for investors.

Case Studies:

• Picasso’s “Fillette au béret”: Sygnum partnered with art investment firm Artemundi to tokenize ownership of a Picasso painting, allowing fractional investment in blue-chip art.
• CryptoPunk 6808: One of the first NFTs to be tokenized by a regulated bank, offering investors access to a digital collectible in a compliant manner.
• Private Debt and Equity: Recent projects include the tokenization of Hamilton Lane’s Global Private Assets fund and a European SME loan portfolio by Azimut.

Sygnum’s Compliance and RegTech Solutions

As the first regulated digital asset bank, Sygnum has developed a comprehensive suite of compliance and RegTech (Regulatory Technology) solutions that ensure clients can engage with digital assets in a secure and fully compliant environment.

RegTech and Compliance Services

Sygnum’s RegTech and compliance services enable financial intermediaries, such as banks and virtual asset service providers (VASPs), to expand their crypto offerings while adhering to strict regulatory standards. 

Key elements of Sygnum’s RegTech services include:

• Crypto Compliance as a Service (CaaS): This service offers financial intermediaries access to Sygnum’s best practices in crypto compliance. It covers areas like defining internal compliance frameworks, conducting blockchain investigations, and analyzing the origin of wealth for crypto assets.
• Compliance Education: Sygnum offers tailored workshops and training programs to help its partners develop the skills needed for effective crypto compliance. These workshops cover Know-Your-Customer (KYC) processes, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards, and regulatory developments in the digital asset space.
• Crypto AML Tool (C-AML): Sygnum’s proprietary anti-money laundering tool is designed to monitor both incoming and outgoing crypto transactions, ensuring compliance with the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Travel Rule. This automated workflow helps clients meet international regulatory standards, making it easier to operate in the global crypto economy.

Blockchain Forensics and Smart Forensics Tools

Sygnum takes a forensics-based approach to compliance, leveraging blockchain technology to provide greater transparency and traceability in digital asset transactions. Its smart forensics tools give compliance teams the ability to:

• Analyze the source of wealth for digital assets, ensuring that client funds are legitimate and free from illicit activity.
• Verify the ownership of non-custodial wallets, a critical aspect of complying with FATF’s Travel Rule for hosted wallets.
• Assess the quality of digital assets by conducting blockchain investigations that trace the history of transactions on the network, helping financial institutions manage risks associated with dealing in digital assets.

Crypto Compliance Education

Sygnum places a strong emphasis on educating its partners and clients about the importance of compliance in the digital asset space. The bank offers modular training programs that range from basic to expert levels, allowing stakeholders to gain a deep understanding of crypto regulations. 

This includes seminars for specialists, offering in-depth sessions to meet specific needs of compliance officers, legal teams, and risk management professionals working with digital assets, but also interactive workshops. 

Regulatory Partnerships and Expansion

Sygnum’s partnerships in AML and RegTech enhance its ability to offer cutting-edge solutions to the broader financial industry. For example, Sygnum’s collaboration with Chainlink and Fidelity has enabled the on-chain provision of Net Asset Value (NAV) data, a breakthrough in transparency and compliance for asset management in the crypto space.

The C-AML tool, developed by Sygnum, has been in use since 2019 and is a crucial part of the bank’s RegTech suite. It integrates seamlessly with financial institutions’ IT systems and supports core functions like custody, CRM, and core banking. This level of integration allows Sygnum’s partners to implement a regulatory-compliant crypto transaction monitoring process with ease.

Sygnum Singapore

Sygnum Singapore is a key pillar in Sygnum’s global operations. Established as part of Sygnum’s dual headquarters model, Sygnum Singapore operates under the regulatory oversight of the MAS and holds both a CMS license and a Major Payments Institution License (MPIL). The latter was granted in June 2023. This license allows Sygnum Singapore to provide payment services, including digital payment token services. This enables Sygnum to facilitate seamless payment solutions for Web3 companies, start-ups, and corporates operating in the digital asset space.

From the outset, Sygnum’s strategy has been to operate under stringent regulatory standards, ensuring that its services are fully compliant with Singapore’s financial laws.

Similar to its other headquarters, the Singapore headquarters also offer trading and custody, digital asset solutions (i.e. supporting Web3 start-ups), tokenization (through Desygnate), etc. The asset management department includes venture capital investments, yield generating products, and crypto sector indices (through Platform Winners Index ETP, DeFi+ Core AMC, etc).

The firm is committed to meeting the growing demand for regulated digital asset services in Asia, including Japan, Southeast Asia, and Hong Kong. 

In March 2023, Sygnum opened its Abu Dhabi branch, further strengthening its foothold in key global markets and expanding its client base. Sygnum Singapore plays a crucial role in the bank’s expansion into Europe, particularly with its registration in Liechtenstein, which opened the door to MiCA-compliant operations across the European Union.

Recent Developments

Sygnum’s forward momentum in 2024 has been marked by several strategic developments that highlight its leadership in the digital asset industry. In March 2024, Sygnum undertook a significant tokenization project by tokenizing $50 million of Matter Labs’ treasury reserves onto the zkSync blockchain. In June 2024, Sygnum announced the onboarding of 20+ banks and financial institutions to its B2B platform, enabling these banks to offer regulated crypto services to one-third of Switzerland’s population. 

In July 2024, Sygnum launched Sygnum Connect, a 24/7 instant multi-asset settlement network that facilitates the seamless exchange of fiat currencies, digital assets, and stablecoins. In the same month, Sygnum announced its partnership with Fidelity International and Chainlink to provide Net Asset Value (NAV) data on-chain for the first time, bringing a key financial metric on-chain. 

Sygnum reported profitability for the first half of 2024, demonstrating strong business growth and positioning itself for further expansion into the European market. In August 2024, Sygnum issued the industry’s first $50 million Bitcoin-backed syndicated loan to Ledn, a major player in digital asset lending. 

In October 2024, Sygnum took a major step forward in wallet security by launching its Web3 wallet recovery module. Built on the Safe (formerly Gnosis Safe) platform, this module allows users to recover their self-custody wallets, addressing one of the biggest challenges of using decentralized wallets—loss of access due to forgotten private keys. 

One of Sygnum’s most recent initiatives is its involvement in supporting Switzerland for UNHCR through the Bridging Worlds: Digital Art Beyond Borders auction. Held in partnership with Christie’s 3.0, the auction uses the power of digital art to raise funds for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 

Leadership and Advisory

Sygnum’s leadership comprises a diverse and experienced team that combines traditional banking expertise with deep knowledge of blockchain and digital assets. Co-Founder and Group CEO Mathias Imbach leads the strategic direction, while Co-Founder Gerald Goh heads operations in Singapore. 

Luka Müller, Co-Founder and Chairman, along with key figures such as Thomas Buess (Head of Audit & Risk) and Chua Kim Leng (Head of AML), ensures strong governance and regulatory compliance. The Group Executive Board, including Chief Clients Officer Martin Burgherr and Chief Product Officer Thomas Eichenberger, drives innovation across the bank’s product offerings, supported by the Advisory Council featuring industry experts like Philipp Hildebrand and David Lee.