Crypto bank Sygnum posts first-half profit amid plans for MiCA-compliant EU expansion

Digital asset bank Sygnum reported reaching profitability on Wednesday following a strong first-half performance.

Sygnum saw a two-fold increase in crypto spot trading, a 500% rise in crypto derivatives trading and more than a 360% increase in lending volumes in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to a statement shared with The Block.

Crypto transfer volumes on Sygnum's institutional-grade platform increased substantially 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 witnessed notable growth, 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 approval and launch of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs were a watershed moment for the crypto sector this year, leading to a major increase in demand for trusted, regulated exposure to digital assets,” Sygnum Chief Client Officer Martin Burgherr said. “This is also reflected in Sygnum’s own growth, with our core business areas seeing a significant YTD increase in H1.”

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.

Sygnum now holds around $4.5 billion in client assets and over $125 million in equivalent core equity capital, following a $40 million funding round at a $900 million valuation announced in January.

Sygnum's international expansion plans

In Europe, Sygnum holds licenses in Switzerland and Luxembourg, with plans to significantly expand its MiCA-compliant regulated footprint via the 30 countries that comprise the European Union and European Economic Area in the first quarter of 2025.

Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) is a comprehensive regulatory framework established by the European Union to create uniformity in crypto regulation among its members.

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. This includes plans for regulated operations in Hong Kong, which the company says are “at an advanced stage.” Sygnum is also licensed in Abu Dhabi, where it offers local access to a portfolio of Swiss-regulated financial services.

The firm added that it is leveraging its recent growth to invest in its infrastructure, including scaling up Sygnum Connect, a network designed to make transactions in the global crypto ecosystem faster, cheaper, less risky and more reliable, as well as expanding its traditional securities offering.

Sygnum has also partnered with Fidelity International, Matter Labs and Hamilton Lane on tokenization projects and collaborated with Chainlink to provide fund NAV data on-chain in 2024.