Sygnum has obtained a crypto license in Liechtenstein as the company plans to expand into the European Union under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
The bank’s subsidiary in Liechtenstein was granted a license to provide regulated digital asset services, including brokerage, custody, and banking, under the country’s Token and Trusted Technology Service Providers Act. This license will enable Sygnum to apply for a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) license under MiCA, once Liechtenstein adopts the regulation, expected in the first quarter of 2025.
Sygnum is among several firms, including Coinbase and Circle, preparing to expand into Europe as MiCA regulations take effect.
Licensed in Luxembourg, Singapore, and Switzerland, Sygnum plans to acquire new licenses in Europe under the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations. Additionally, Sygnum intends to expand its regulated operations in Hong Kong.
MiCA provides a unified framework for the crypto industry, allowing companies licensed in one country to operate across all 27 EU member states and countries like Liechtenstein, part of the European Economic Area. Switzerland, where Sygnum is headquartered, is not part of this area.
MiCA’s stablecoin regulations took effect in June, with broader rules expected by December. EU countries have begun registering crypto-asset service providers under the new regime.
Martin Burgherr, Sygnum’s chief clients officer, commented, “The registration as CASP in Liechtenstein paves the way for a significant expansion of our regulated footprint into the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc.”
In July, Sygnum Bank reported its first half-year profit as the U.S. debut of bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the ether approvals boosted trading volumes and other areas of its business.
The Zurich-based crypto banking startup did not disclose its exact profit figure. However, it noted that the first-half spot crypto trading volume doubled from the previous year, and crypto derivatives volume surged by 500%. A $40 million fundraise in January increased its core equity capital to approximately $125 million.
Sygnum also plans to expand in Asia via its fully-regulated digital asset financial services platform in Singapore, which offers asset management, corporate advisory, crypto custody, and brokerage.
Crypto transfer volumes on Sygnum’s platform increased across each of its four core client segments: professional private investors, external asset managers and multi-family offices, crypto foundations and DLT companies, and funds and hedge funds, the firm said.
Sygnum’s “Staking-as-a-Service” offering also outperformed, with the percentage of ether staked by its clients increasing to 42% amid the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs in the U.S., which currently exclude staking yields.
The crypto bank’s institutional and professional investor client base is now approaching 2,000 globally, serviced by a team of over 250 people. Sygnum reached over 20 partner banks and financial institutions in June, enabling more than a third of the Swiss population to trade crypto through their primary banks and facilitating more than 1,000 trades per day, the firm claimed.
