Sygnum Bank also adds banking services for the stablecoin, USDC. This significant expansion of Sygnum’s token offering marks the first milestone in Sygnum’s ambition to bridge centralised and decentralised finance (DeFi).

- Total Value Locked (TVL) in DeFi applications has surged from USD 1 billion one year ago to now USD 60 billion(1) - clear indication that DeFi will play an increasingly relevant role in shaping Future Finance
- Launch of custody and trading services for DeFi tokens is only the first step and will be followed by the launch of a suite of yield-generating products across Sygnum’s banking and asset management offering
- In parallel, Sygnum is collaborating with leading DeFi protocols to develop an innovative range of custom DeFi solutions targeted towards institutional and private qualified clients

Sygnum to roll out portfolio of DeFi tokens
DeFi is the umbrella term for a growing number of decentralised applications which operate on public blockchains without the need for intermediaries. It aims to deliver new levels of efficiency and service innovation across a range of traditional and new financial use-cases, and already has USD 60 billion Total Value Locked (TVL) within its ecosystem and is set to grow further. In addition, the scalability and value of these DeFi applications will be significantly boosted by the ongoing Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, the public blockchain hosting the vast majority of DeFi applications, and further adoption of layer 2 scaling solutions.

Sygnum Bank now offers institutional-grade custody and regulated trading for a portfolio of leading DeFi tokens, all of which have seen strong market traction in the past year, including:
- Aave (AAVE) - liquidity protocol for earning interest on deposits and borrowing assets
- Aragon (ANT) - suite of applications and services that enable new forms of governance for global organizations
- Curve (CRV) - decentralised exchange with a focus on stablecoins
- Maker (MKR) - lending platform enabling over-collateralised loans to manage DAI, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar
- Synthetix (SNX) - derivatives liquidity protocol allowing users to gain exposure to a vast range of assets on the Ethereum blockchain
- Uniswap (UNI) - decentralised exchange enabling trading of a broad range of ERC-20 tokens
- 1inch Network (1INCH) - distributed network for decentralised protocols on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and Polygon

In addition, Sygnum will provide custody and trading for USD Coin, a leading stablecoin used in the DeFi space.

In the first phase, Sygnum clients can invest directly in these tokens and access a full suite of banking services including institutional-grade custody, transfer and trading services. In later phases, Sygnum will offer a suite of DeFi yield-generating products and services across its banking as well as asset management offering, and develop custom solutions for its clients with selected DeFi partners.

Thomas Eichenberger, Head of Business Units at Sygnum Bank, says, “The innovations in the DeFi space have the potential to transform many of the existing traditional use cases in the financial industry. They also offer opportunities to build and create new, cutting-edge digital asset products and services offering very attractive return profiles for our clients, especially in a continued low interest environment.”

Collaboration with leading DeFi protocols to develop regulated DeFi products and services
As a pioneer in bringing innovative digital asset products to the regulated space, Sygnum is collaborating with leading DeFi protocols to bring a range of DeFi products and services to clients. These will be integrated seamlessly with major national currencies, cryptocurrencies, a digital CHF and asset tokens in one account, making the DeFi universe bankable, convenient and trusted.

Stani Kulechov, CEO of Aave: “Sygnum's institutional-grade custody solution makes it easier for clients to onboard to the digital asset ecosystem. We look forward to continued collaboration with the aim of bridging the traditional banking world with decentralised finance.”

Michael Egorov, CEO of Curve: “I am extremely excited about Sygnum's recognition of Curve Finance. By this, Sygnum is pioneering a bridge between traditional and decentralised finance, and I am sure that there will be more such bridges in the future - the future where DeFi powers a new financial system: modern, safe and efficient.”

Sergej Kunz, Co-Founder of 1inch Network: “As Sygnum is a genuine trendsetter of the modern banking world, we believe this partnership will bring great value for both counterparts. For its private qualified and institutional clients, Sygnum becomes a convenient gateway to the enormous DeFi market with lots of new opportunities.”