Digital assets and the underlying Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) have immense potential to revolutionise the financial system and democratise asset ownership. While still in the nascent stages of development, the industry has seen exponential growth and increasing levels of interest from institutional investors. As a hotbed of innovation, it is attracting many talented entrepreneurs looking to disrupt the status quo, and DLT-related global private investments have also increased almost seven times over the last five years.

The newly launched early-stage fund will be primarily focused on financial market infrastructure and enterprise solutions being developed for the emerging digital asset economy. Moreover, investors in the fund will benefit from the complementary expertise that Sygnum and SBI bring to the table as leading financial institutions and pioneers in the digital assets space, as well as the strength of their combined network in both Asia and Europe.

Sygnum is a digital asset specialist with a Swiss banking and securities dealer licence and a capital markets services (CMS) licence for asset management in Singapore. It has also played a key role in successfully launching several Swiss digital asset-focused start-ups over the past two years.

SBI Group is a founding member of the Japan Security Token Offering (STO) Association, and a seasoned investor in the space, having invested in prominent DLT companies such as Ripple Inc. and R3. With an AUM of over USD 4 billion, it has a proven track record of investing in early-stage companies in the financial services and technology sectors in Asia and helping these businesses to grow successfully.

“With this fund, Sygnum’s asset management clients will be able to obtain access to a different aspect of the digital asset economy – the innovation and growth of digital asset solutions being brought to the market by some of the most exciting start-ups in the world,” says Fabian Dori, Sygnum’s Head of Asset Management. “We will also pursue opportunities to distribute this fund offering in Switzerland through Sygnum Bank AG,” he adds.

Both partners expect to play an active role with the Fund’s portfolio companies by enhancing corporate governance and providing business development and operational support. The partners also intend to tokenise the fund structure in order to increase accessibility for investors and offer them the potential for greater liquidity post-investment.

(Press release)