Sygnum, a digital asset technology group with a Swiss banking licence and a Singapore Capital Markets Services (CMS) licence, has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to conduct three additional regulated activities under its CMS licence.
Upon obtaining full approval to conduct the additional activities, Sygnum will be able to leverage its existing tokenization and corporate finance capabilities to provide innovative asset managers and Web3 players in Singapore a fully-regulated capital raising solution covering the entire value chain, including:
– 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
These additional regulated activities are an expansion of Sygnum’s existing CMS licence to conduct fund management, which has enabled the company to provide accredited and institutional investors in Singapore diversified exposure to the digital asset economy since 2019 via its suite of asset management products.
Sygnum currently operates a tokenization platform out of Switzerland, where asset owners have issued tokens representing fractional ownership of various traditional securities and digital assets, including a Picasso painting, and a CryptoPunk NFT, with the ownership of each token recorded on a blockchain. The platform also provides professional investors trusted access to these traditionally less-accessible asset classes.
With the additional regulated activities under its belt, Sygnum intends to offer its tokenization solution in Singapore with an initial focus on the tokenization of fund units, starting with its recently-launched venture capital fund, the SBI-Sygnum-Azimut Digital Asset Opportunity fund. This tokenization exercise will enable accredited and institutional investors to subscribe to the fund with significantly smaller ticket sizes and to potentially benefit from secondary liquidity via a listing of these tokenized fund units on a regulated digital asset exchange. Future initiatives include providing corporate finance advice to Web3 platforms and digital creators, and to securitize their rare digital collectibles, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and metaverse assets like in-game items and virtual land.
“Singapore continues to be a welcoming destination for trusted financial institutions seeking to meet the growing demand for regulated digital asset financial services,” said Gerald Goh, Sygnum Co-Founder and Singapore CEO. “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 enable 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.”
“Professional investors today face several technological, regulatory and portfolio challenges when it comes to building exposure to cryptocurrencies, and digital assets more broadly, including NFTs and the emerging metaverse,” said Mathias Imbach, Sygnum Co-Founder and Group CEO. “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.”
In addition to its existing CMS licence permitting Sygnum Pte. Ltd. to conduct the regulated activity of Fund Management, the company has received in-principle approval for the following additional regulated activities:
– Advising on Corporate Finance,
– Dealing in Capital Markets Products that are securities and units in a collective investment scheme, and
– Providing Custodial Services
The company will be able to conduct the additional activities upon meeting the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) conditions of its in-principle approval.
Sygnum Pte. Ltd’s CMS licence is solely regulated by MAS in Singapore, and does not confer or imply any licencing rights to Sygnum Bank AG in Switzerland.
Photo by Kenneth Koh on Unsplash
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