Sygnum Bank achieves Unicorn status following $58 million funding round to expand Bitcoin focus

Switzerland and Singapore-based crypto bank Sygnum has raised $58 million in an oversubscribed strategic growth round, achieving Unicorn status with a post-money valuation of more than $1 billion.

Fulgur Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in Bitcoin technologies, was the cornerstone investor in the final close of the round, Sygnum said in a statement shared with The Block. It is joined by new and existing strategic and financial investors. Sygnum team members also participated on equal terms, continuing to hold majority ownership alongside co-founders and the board, according to the company.

"Fulgur continues to drive investment into the accelerating convergence of Bitcoin and institutional financial markets,” Fulgur Ventures partner Oleg Mikhalsky said. “Sygnum’s market-tested infrastructure, digital asset-native team and global ecosystem makes them the ideal partner to co-develop innovative Bitcoin-related financial products and technologies … which coincides with a potential inflection point for Bitcoin’s institutional adoption and regulatory clarity.” 

Tuesday’s announcement comes less than a year after Sygnum confirmed it had secured over $40 million in an interim close of a strategic funding round last January, led by Milan-based asset manager Azimut Holding, at a $900 million valuation. In its previous Series B funding round , which closed in January 2022, the crypto bank secured $90 million with participation from several Asia-based investors, including Sun Hung Kai & Co., Animoca Brands and SBI Holdings.

The fresh capital will be used to expand its product portfolio with a focus on Bitcoin technology, broaden its institutional infrastructure, strengthen its compliance teams and explore strategic acquisition opportunities, the firm said. The proceeds will also help Sygnum's EU expansion plans and launch its regulated presence in Hong Kong.

In addition to its licenses in Switzerland and Singapore, ​​Sygnum is also regulated in Abu Dhabi, Luxembourg and most recently, Liechtenstein, with plans to significantly broaden its MiCA-compliant regulated footprint in the EU this quarter.

“Sygnum reaching Unicorn status is a strong validation by the market of our business model, strategy and team,” Sygnum co-founder and CEO Mathias Imbach said. “As Switzerland is currently losing ground to other jurisdictions as a preferred digital asset hub, it is also our obligation to highlight the need for Switzerland to not ignore the importance of continuous innovation in the financial sector and to continue to attract talent and capital to remain relevant in the long-term.”

$5 billion in client assets

Sygnum claims to have achieved operational profitability in the 2024 financial year, driven by growth across its trading products — including crypto spot, derivatives, FX and traditional securities — with annual trades up more than 1,000% year-over-year. The banking group now manages more than $5 billion in assets for over 2,000 clients across 70 countries, it said.

Last year, Sygnum launched Sygnum Connect, a 24/7 multi-asset settlement network, with initial members including AsiaNext and Hidden Road. It also introduced Sygnum Protect, a platform for institutional clients to trade on major crypto exchanges while securely holding collateral in Sygnum’s bank-grade custody.

​​Sygnum additionally partnered with Fidelity International, Matter Labs and Hamilton Lane on tokenization projects and collaborated with Chainlink to provide fund NAV data onchain in 2024.

Sygnum’s Ethereum ETFs prediction

Just after the spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds were approved to begin trading in the U.S. last July, Sygnum Bank’s Head of Research Katalin Tischhauser told The Block that Ethereum’s lower name recognition and smaller market cap could lead to inflows as low as 15% of the spot Bitcoin ETFs, with a resulting forecast of $5 to $10 billion in the first year.

Six months later, the Ethereum ETFs have generated $2.5 billion in net inflows, compared to $18.9 billion for their Bitcoin counterparts during the same period — just over 13%. On an annualized basis, that would equate to around $5 billion, aligning with Sygnum’s lower bound estimate.