Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum expands operations to Abu Dhabi
The approval from the Abu Dhabi Global Market's Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to operate in Abu Dhabi comes as an effort to tap into the growing demand for the region's cryptocurrencies.
Switzerland-based digital asset bank Sygnum has received in-principle approval from the Abu Dhabi Global Market's Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to operate in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The approval comes as an effort to tap into the growing demand for the region's cryptocurrencies.
As per a report by The National, the new Middle East centre will serve the local market with a crypto-native suite of digital asset banking, asset management, tokenisation and B2B banking services, which will be regulated by Switzerland’s financial market supervisory authority (Finma).
Mathias Imbach, Sygnum’s co-founder and group chief executive, said, “Sygnum’s international expansion into the Abu Dhabi crypto hub gives us access to one of the biggest global wealth and asset management pools. It also gives us new opportunities to show the value of investing in crypto with complete trust to the local community, clients and partners.”
The company intends to pursue blockchain firms moving to the UAE to existing local cryptocurrency foundations and projects, traditional institutional investors, and high-net-worth individuals looking for trusted cryptocurrency asset exposure through a regulated partner, added the report.
At present, the company holds a capital markets services licence in Singapore, and serves around 1,500 clients globally.
The report noted that as per a statement by Sygnum, citing data from Statista, the UAE is fast becoming a global cryptocurrency hub, with the fifth-highest global adoption at 34% and annual transactions of more than $25 billion.
Arvind Ramamurthy, chief of markets at ADGM, said: “With a focus on bolstering the economic growth of Abu Dhabi and upholding the transparency and integrity of the marketplace, Sygnum’s presence in the region supports our continuing commitment to Abu Dhabi and the UAE, attracting global companies that truly make it an international financial hub to conduct business seamlessly.”
Recently, ADG announced the launch of Abu Dhabi Crypto Hub, a web-based interactive platform that provides users information access and connections with the financial centre's existing virtual asset firms.
The report added that at present, over 5,400 companies are registered and licensed at the ADGM, as per
Dhaher Al Mheiri, chief executive of the registration authority of the ADGM.
Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta