Sygnum
Sygnum Bank AG
Sygnum is a global digital-asset banking group headquartered in Zurich with a presence in Singapore and Abu Dhabi. It was the world's first regulated digital-asset bank (2019), holding a FINMA banking and securities dealer licence in Switzerland and a MAS Capital Markets Services licence in Singapore. It offers bank-grade custody, trading, tokenization, lending and digital-asset investment products for private and institutional clients, and has launched the Swiss franc stablecoin DCHF, pegged 1:1 to the CHF and backed by funds held with the Swiss National Bank. After its January 2025 growth round it became a unicorn with a valuation above $1 billion.
Data & conditions
| Service type | Card issuing / BaaS |
|---|---|
| Pricing model | Not disclosed |
| Stablecoins | DCHF |
| Custody model | qualified-custody |
| Customer type | Enterprise, Fintech, Platforms |
| Certifications | GDPR |
| Fund custody | Custodial (platform holds funds) |
| KYC | Full |
| Supported countries | EEA, APAC, MENA |
| Regulator | FINMA (Svizzera); MAS (Singapore) |
| OAM Italy registration | No |
| Segment | B2B, B2C |
| Funding / solidity | World's first digital-asset bank (2019); unicorn (>$1bn after the Jan 2025 round); ~2,300 clients across 80+ countries, ~$6bn in client assets at end of FY2025 |
| MiCA / License status | FINMA banking & securities dealer licenceMAS Capital Markets Services (CMS) licence FINMA-regulated bank (banking and securities dealer licence); MAS CMS licence in Singapore |
Strengths
- Fully FINMA-regulated bank, with a MAS licence in Singapore
- Bank-grade custody and world's first digital-asset bank
- Unicorn with >$1bn valuation and ~$6bn in client assets
- No notable sovereignty advantage documented.
Weaknesses
- Oriented to institutional and high-net-worth clients, not mass retail
- Not available as a consumer service in Italy
- Fees and terms are not public, set on a contractual basis
- Custodial: the platform holds your funds and can freeze or lose them.
- Full KYC required: verified identity, zero pseudonymity.
- Subject to regulation (FINMA-regulated bank (banking and securities dealer licence); MAS CMS licence in Singapore): reporting to authorities and freezes on order.
Verdict
Score 4.4/5, very strong profile. In its favour: fully FINMA-regulated bank, with a MAS licence in Singapore. The trade-off to weigh: oriented to institutional and high-net-worth clients, not mass retail.
On the Sovereignty lens the score is 0.6/5 (weak): the strength is censorship resistance (1.5/5), while privacy & anonymity (0.0/5) is the weak link.
Promp's editorial rating based on real fees and net annual cost. Promp reviews third-party products independently.
"Sovereignty" rating: score computed on privacy/anonymity (30%), fund control (20%), censorship resistance (20%), trustless/auditability (20%) and costs (10%). Same data, different weights.
FAQ
Is Sygnum a real bank?
Yes. Sygnum Bank AG is a bank regulated by Switzerland's FINMA with a banking and securities dealer licence, and it operates in Singapore under a MAS licence. It was the world's first bank dedicated to digital assets (2019).
Can a private individual in Italy open a Sygnum account?
Sygnum mainly serves institutional and high-net-worth clients in Switzerland, Singapore and the Middle East. It is not a consumer account designed for the Italian market.
Sources
- Official service page Descrizione · Prodotto · Custodia Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
- fintechfutures.com Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
- prnewswire.com Data verified on Jul 17, 2026