Sygnum Bank

Most crypto custodians and exchanges operate outside the traditional banking framework, leaving institutional clients to manage counterparty risk, custody, and compliance through a patchwork of unregulated providers. Sygnum Bank was founded in 2017 and obtained a FINMA banking licence in 2019, making it one of the first institutions to offer a full suite of digital asset banking services under a Swiss universal banking licence. That regulatory foundation underpins everything from custody and trading to staking, lending, and tokenization.

For family offices building or scaling a digital asset allocation, the practical distinction is meaningful. Sygnum holds assets under bank-grade, multi-level custody, operates a 24/7 trading infrastructure with deep liquidity, and offers crypto-backed credit lines. The Sygnum Protect product allows clients to trade on major crypto exchanges while holding collateral off-exchange with bankruptcy-remote custody, directly addressing counterparty risk concerns that have crystallised in past exchange failures. The Sygnum Select discretionary mandate service applies a Swiss private banking model to crypto portfolio management, targeting clients who want professional oversight rather than direct execution.

Key services relevant to family offices include:

• Bank-grade digital asset custody with instant access
• Staking for yield generation on supported tokens
• Crypto-backed lending using assets as collateral
• Tokenization of traditional securities, private markets assets, and art
• Discretionary crypto mandates via Sygnum Select

With over CHF 4.5 billion in assets under administration, more than 2,000 clients across 80 countries, and regulated operations in Switzerland, Singapore, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and the UAE, Sygnum is built for institutional use. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and the platform’s depth is calibrated toward qualified investors and institutional clients rather than family offices with minimal digital asset exposure.