Swiss crypto bank tokenises shares and braces for public offering. Major cryptocurrency bank in Switzerland, Sygnum has successfully tokenized its shares in blockchain in preparation for its upcoming public offering.
According to an official Dec. 14 announcement, the bank tokenized its shares using a proprietary tokenization platform called Desygnate.
The blockchain-based platform issues digital representation of shares and related legal rights and responsibilities on a distributed ledger, providing an alternative to conventional capital raising options such as an initial public offering or an IPO. The platform was designed to be completely compliant with the new Swiss Ledger Technology Act, which entered into force in February 2021.
Mathias Imbach, co-founder of Sygnum and CEO at Desygnate, said that Sygnum is the first bank in the world to tokenize its own shares “We are excited to be the first bank in the world to tokenize our shares. This is an important milestone towards fulfilling our mission of creating more direct and efficient access to ownership and value. This includes new engagement models with our clients and partners, and ultimately providing liquidity for our trusted shareholders.”
Sygnum’s goal through this tokenisation is to simplify a number of processes related to the company’s shares, such as the need for buyers to inform Sygnum to manually update its shareholder registry. Tokenization also reduces the administrative burden of written form requirements for the transfer of shares between buyers and sellers.
Sygnum is currently exploring several strategies for its future public offering, including a potential dual listing with SIX Digital Exchange.
[image: Claudio Schwarz]
