Korea Fintech Industry Association Establishes Council for Security Tokens

Switzerland and Singapore-based crypto bank Sygnum has successfully closed a funding round, securing over $40 million in capital, with plans to expand its service offering in Asia. On the brink of unicorn statusThe funding round was achieved based upon a post-money valuation of $900 million, with Sygnum edging closer to unicorn status. Led by global asset management group Azimut Holdings, the funding surpassed the initial target of $35 million, reinforcing Sygnum's position in the rapidly evolving digital assets space. In a press release, Mathias Imbach, Sygnum's co-founder and CEO, expressed excitement about the successful funding round, highlighting the company's commitment to building trust through regulation and good governance. Imbach stated:”Our core thesis has always been that Future has Heritage, and our strategy to build trust via regulation and good governance has guided us throughout all market cycles. ” Gerald Goh, Sygnum's co-founder and CEO of its Singapore operations, emphasized the importance of staying ahead as clients' needs and activities grow more sophisticated. The fresh funds will enable Sygnum to continuously upgrade and enhance its product and service offerings in response to evolving market demands.Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashAsian focusThe funds raised in this round will be instrumental in expanding Sygnum's geographical reach into new markets in 2024, within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region as well as within the European Union. Sygnum has already made in-roads in Asia. Having started out in Switzerland, in 2019 the company set up a base in Singapore, establishing Sygnum Singapore and obtained a capital markets license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Last June, the firm achieved in-principle approval for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from MAS. It fulfilled the regulator’s requirements to bring about full approval in October. Goh told Bloomberg that the company envisages achieving growth in Asia and Europe through acquisition.  Developing fully regulated productsThis latest capital injection has also been earmarked to accelerate the development of fully regulated products, including the bank-to-bank platform that currently powers crypto offerings for more than 15 banks and financial institutions worldwide. Sygnum's assets under management have surged to $4 billion, with a client base exceeding 1,700 from over 60 countries. At the end of 2023, the firm reported an annualized revenue run rate (ARRR) exceeding $100 million, marking a significant milestone for the company's financial health and positive cash flow. Sygnum's expansion efforts include collaborations with key players in the industry. In November, the bank furthered its partnership with the Singapore arm of 174-year-old private bank Bordier & Cie, strengthening their initial collaboration that started in Geneva in 2021. Giorgio Medda, CEO of Azimut Holding, highlighted the strategic partnership between Azimut and Sygnum since 2021, emphasizing their joint development of the first tokenization of a private credit portfolio in Europe. Despite the recent challenges in the crypto industry, Sygnum remains optimistic about the future. The broader industry is witnessing a resurgence, with investors and market participants seeking partnerships with trusted and well-managed financial institutions. This sentiment aligns with Sygnum's vision to provide fully regulated solutions and support investors as they increase exposure to the asset class. 

Uzbekistan’s New Private Bank Joins National Crypto Card InitiativeIn a step towards enhancing its cryptocurrency ecosystem, the Republic of Uzbekistan has given the green light to include another private bank in its ongoing national crypto card project. The development was announced through an official press release earlier this week by the National Agency of Perspective Projects (NAPP), the country’s regulatory authority for digital assets.Photo by engin akyurt on UnsplashBuilding upon a crypto frameworkUnder the provisions outlined by the Uzbekistan Ministry of Justice on December 30 of last year, the Special Regulatory Sandbox Regime was established. This unique framework empowers specific entities within Uzbekistan’s crypto sphere to provide specialized services. JSV Ravnaq Bank has now been registered as a member of this regime, enabling its active participation in the pilot phase of the nation’s crypto card project.Virtual bank cardThis initiative is poised to introduce a virtual bank card named “CRYPTO CARD — UzNEX.” The card’s standout feature is its ability to facilitate automatic fund addition to users’ primary accounts. This is achieved by swiftly converting crypto assets from a digital wallet on a partner crypto exchange platform.A vital aspect of the crypto card’s development lies in its compatibility testing with various financial systems, including the widely used Mastercard payment platform. According to NAPP’s statement, the participant bank within the special regulatory regime will be rigorously testing the integration of the automated banking system, crypto-exchange information system, bank processing center, and the MasterCard international payment system.December launchNotably, the addition of Ravnaq Bank marks the second entrant into the project, with Kapital Bank being the first participant approved in May. While Kapital Bank’s testing phase commenced at the end of June 2023, Ravnaq Bank is set to initiate its test launch by the end of October 2023. Both banks are expected to launch the full project by late December, in accordance with NAPP’s timeline.Beyond these private banks, the Special Regulatory Sandbox Regime also includes UZINFOCOM, a company authorized to develop NFT certificates based on distributed data registry technology.

Hong Kong's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) encountered their second day of net outflows since their launch on April 30. According to data published by crypto trading data platform SoSo Value, in excess of 90 BTC exited the Hong Kong ETFs on May 9. The data indicated that China Asset Management's spot Bitcoin ETF observed an outflow of 80.16 BTC, while the Bosera HashKey Bitcoin ETF recorded a lesser outflow of 10 BTC. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s third spot Bitcoin ETF offered by Harvest Global registered zero flows.Photo by Dmytro Demidko on UnsplashThese daily net outflows follow a trend of net inflows that had developed in the preceding days, with the three ETFs collectively witnessing net inflows of 101.6 BTC on Wednesday and 99.99 BTC on Tuesday. As of Thursday, the three ETFs, managed by ChinaAMC, Harvest Global and Bosera with HashKey, held approximately 4,260 Bitcoin, with total net assets reaching $261.45 million, marking an increase from $247.7 million on the first day of trading. The total trading volume for the three ETFs amounted to $2.06 million on Thursday, a decline from $2.67 million the day prior and a significant drop from the $9.74 million recorded on April 30, according to SosoValue data. This recent outflow represents the second day of net outflows from these products since their launch on April 30.   The initial day of outflows occurred on May 6, with 75.36 BTC flowing out of the products. This marked the first setback for Hong Kong's Bitcoin ETFs following their launch on April 30.  The outflows on that occasion primarily stemmed from the China Asset Management Bitcoin ETF, while other Hong Kong-based products saw no flows. Potential Stock Connect additionMany commentators had expected these Hong Kong-based products to see inflows from mainland China. While that hasn’t materialized yet, Harvest Global CEO Han Tongli said that he doesn’t rule out the addition of its Bitcoin and Ether ETF products to Stock Connect.  Shanghai Hong Kong Stock Connect is a cross border investment channel that would open access to these products to investors that ordinarily invest in and trade products and equities listed within the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSEC). Tongli made the suggestion to the South China Morning Post (SCMP)  while attending the Bitcoin Asia conference. He suggested that such an addition is a possibility if all goes smoothly over the course of the next two years. U.S. product outflowsIn the U.S., spot Bitcoin ETFs also saw net outflows on Thursday, amounting to $11.29 million. Farside data indicates that the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) witnessed a substantial $43.4 million redemption, marking its largest single-day outflow since May 2, totaling $17.5 billion in outflows overall. BlackRock’s IBIT has now accumulated $15.4 billion in total inflows. Additionally, other top-performing ETFs — Bitwise (BITB), Fidelity (FBTC) and ARK (ARKB) — also experienced inflows. In total, U.S. ETFs have witnessed $11.7 billion in cumulative net inflows.