ThomasBrunner.eth

🇨🇭 Part two. Three more Swiss projects that most of CT never talks about. Europe needed a regulated crypto platform that could compete with Coinbase. A team in Lausanne built it before anyone else tried. @SwissBorg launched in 2017 and spent years solving a problem nobody wanted to touch. How do you build a crypto platform that is MiCA approved, licensed across Europe, and still competitive on product with the biggest exchanges in the world? Their Meta-Exchange aggregates liquidity across dozens of CEXs and DEXs and executes the optimal route automatically. They built a launchpad giving retail users access to pre-TGE deals previously locked behind VC relationships. And they just closed a Mastercard partnership for a crypto debit card accepted at over 150 million locations. Over 1 million users. While everyone watched the US exchanges, SwissBorg was building the infrastructure compliant crypto in Europe actually runs on. Then in Zurich, two founders identified the single biggest blocker to institutional capital entering crypto. It wasn’t volatility. It wasn’t technology. It was the absence of a regulated counterparty that institutions could legally trust. Think about what banks were doing to crypto companies in 2017. Closing accounts. Refusing to onboard. Treating digital assets like financial crime waiting to happen. Most traditional banks are still doing this today. @sygnumofficial went the other direction. They got a full Swiss FINMA banking licence, built every product institutions actually need, and opened for business as the world’s first regulated digital asset bank. In January 2025 they hit a $1 billion valuation. By December they had partnered with BNY for USD settlement. Over 2,000 institutional clients across 80+ countries are now moving real capital through a bank that chose crypto when every other bank was running from it. Most banks are still figuring out whether to let a crypto company open a basic account. Sygnum was already a bank. Same city. Same year. A completely different angle on the same problem. Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder saw that institutional capital still couldn’t touch crypto directly. Pension funds and asset managers needed a regulated security they could buy through infrastructure they already used for stocks and bonds. November 2018. Crypto had just lost 80% of its value. Every institution that had flirted with the space had quietly backed away. Rashwan and Snyder listed HODL anyway. @21Shares put the world’s first physically-backed crypto ETP on the SIX Swiss Exchange with $5 million in assets and zero guarantee anyone would care. By mid-2025 they had surpassed $10 billion in AUM and held roughly one third of all European crypto ETP market share. In 2025 alone their secondary market turnover surged 56% to over $11.9 billion. The US didn’t approve a spot Bitcoin ETF until January 2024. Switzerland had physically-backed crypto ETPs on regulated exchanges six years earlier. Every time an institution buys crypto exposure through a regulated exchange today, the structure traces back to one product, listed in a bear market, by two people in Zurich who didn’t wait for permission. One country. Three more companies. All building the rails the rest of the industry runs on. Part three is coming 👀

Lido Community Staking Module (CSM) is now permissionless and open to everyone 🌐 • Submit your first validator key with just 2.4 ETH as a bond. • Subsequent validators? Bond drops to 1.3 ETH. • Early Adoption eligible participants still enjoy a discounted bond (1.5 ETH) for their first validator. Dive in here: csm.lido.fi

Mathias Imbach, Sygnum Co-Founder and Group CEO, comments on Sygnum reaching a 1 billion valuation: “Sygnum reaching Unicorn status is a strong validation by the market of our business model, strategy and team. While it is an achievement we are very proud of, it won’t alter the values of integrity and humility, and the importance of displaying confidence without attitude at all times, which have acted as our true-north since day one. As Switzerland is currently losing ground to other jurisdictions as a preferred digital asset hub, it is also our obligation to highlight the need for Switzerland to not ignore the importance of continuous innovation in the financial sector and to continue to attract talent and capital to remain relevant in the long-term. In that way, Sygnum’s mission is only at the very beginning.” 🔗 Read the full announcement here: sygnum.com/news/sygnum-co… #blockchain #crypto Disclaimer: sygnum.com/disclaimer

📣 News: Sygnum Completes USD 58m Strategic Growth Round, Achieves Unicorn Status with 1bn valuation sygnum.com/news/sygnum-co… Sygnum announces it has raised a total of USD 58 million in its oversubscribed Strategic Growth Round, giving it a post-money valuation of more than 1 billion. ▪️ Final close cornerstone investor Fulgur Ventures, a Bitcoin-focused venture capital firm, is joined by new and existing strategic and financial investors, as well as Sygnum team members ▪️ Banking group has USD >5 billion in total client assets, with completed Strategic Growth Round bolstering its robust balance sheet and CET1 capital to support future growth ▪️ Proceeds to drive multi-region market entry, expand product portfolio with focus on Bitcoin-technology, enable strategic acquisitions and further strengthen organisational resilience Mathias Imbach, Sygnum Co-Founder and Group CEO, comments that: “Sygnum reaching Unicorn status is a strong validation by the market of our business model, strategy and team. While it is an achievement we are very proud of, it won’t alter the values of integrity and humility, and the importance of displaying confidence without attitude at all times, which have acted as our true-north since day one. As Switzerland is currently losing ground to other jurisdictions as a preferred digital asset hub, it is also our obligation to highlight the need for Switzerland to not ignore the importance of continuous innovation in the financial sector and to continue to attract talent and capital to remain relevant in the long-term. In that way, Sygnum’s mission is only at the very beginning.” Read the full announcement here: @FulgurVentures @AliyaDG @thomas_brunner @nrpalao @leafs4liife @nayanatalwar #unicorn #FutureFinance Disclaimer: sygnum.com/disclaimer

Sygnum has taken a significant step toward its European expansion by registering its local subsidiary with the Lichtenstein financial regulator, FMA. Martin Burgherr, Sygnum Chief Clients Officer, says: “We are excited to announce Sygnum’s expansion into Liechtenstein, a country known for its forward-thinking approach to innovations in finance and digital assets. The registration as CASP in Liechtenstein paves the way for a significant expansion of our regulated footprint into the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc.” Read the announcement here: sygnum.com/news/sygnum-ob… Disclaimer: bit.ly/4edJA1v

Sygnum’s growing selection of assets available for staking includes​ #Ethereum, Cardano, Cosmos Hub, Internet Computer and Tezos.​ Sygnum’s custody and #staking services are fully integrated with its regulated banking platform, and are backed by institutional-grade security features, including holding client crypto assets off-balance sheet. ​ Learn more here: sygnum.com/digital-asset-… ​ @thomas_brunner ​Advertising. Read the disclaimer here: bit.ly/3YW7Gsf

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐲𝐠𝐧𝐮𝐦’𝐬 5𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 🎉 On this day in 2019, Sygnum received a banking and securities dealer licence from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (@FINMA_media). Just four days later, we fulfilled all secondary conditions and became the world's first digital asset bank. This milestone was quickly followed in our Singapore hub with a Capital Markets Licence (CMS) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (@MAS_sg). Over the past seven years since Sygnum was founded, and the past five as a Swiss bank and global digital asset group, we have stayed true to our core mission; to enable everyone, everywhere, to own #digitalassets with complete trust. Today, Sygnum Singapore also has a Major Payments Institution Licence (MPIL) and we have expanded internationally into the established global financial hubs of Abu Dhabi and Luxembourg. Our commitment to “growing and winning” together has helped our client base grow to almost 2,000, our total assets to USD ~$4.5 billion and our global team to over 250. We’d like to thank the Sygnum team, our loyal clients and investors, our ecosystem of committed partners and the global digital asset community for joining us on the journey to create #FutureFinance. To read about the day we became the world’s first digital asset bank, click here: bit.ly/4cynq8T Disclaimer: bit.ly/4edJA1v @nrpalao @thomas_brunner @Rico_Mueller @nayanatalwar @AliyaDG @leafs4liife @debtanpink

📰 @Cointelegraph's @josullivan010 reports on Sygnum issuing the industry-first $50M Bitcoin-backed syndicated loan to Ledn cointelegraph.com/news/ledn-50m-… “The collaboration involving Sygnum’s institutional clients will enable Ledn to offer its customers improved flexibility when accessing capital,” @josullivan010 writes. Read the article "Ledn secures industry-first $50M #Bitcoin-backed syndicated loan" here: @sygnumofficial @nrpalao @thomas_brunner @Rico_Mueller @nayanatalwar @AliyaDG @hodlwithLedn @adamreeds @john_w_glover @nkf_ch

.@FireblocksHQ, a digital asset infrastructure provider, will fully integrate the Sygnum Connect network into their platform in Q3 2024. fireblocks.com/blog/sygnum-ta… @FireblocksHQ, a digital asset infrastructure provider with over 1,800 institutional clients, is providing the fiat settlement infrastructure for Sygnum Connect, through the Fireblocks Network, an enterprise-grade digital asset transfer platform for rapid #digitalasset transactions and dynamic payment workflow. This will significantly expand and simplify network access and avoid the added complexity of settling different types of assets through different platforms. To learn more, read the article "Sygnum taps Fireblocks for new instant settlement network" by @FireblocksHQ's Daniel Evans here:

📣 News: Sygnum launches Connect 24/7 Multi-Asset Instant Settlement Network sygnum.com/news/sygnum-la… ▪️ First network to offer 24/7 free instant settlement for fiat, #digitalassets and #stablecoins ▪️ Launches with existing institutional network, including regulated institution only digital asset exchange @ASNXT_official, prime broker @HiddenRoadHQ, liquidity provider @B2C2Group and connectivity to 200+ of Sygnum’s high-volume trading clients ▪️ Focused on enhancing capital efficiency and on-demand liquidity for professional and institutional market participants in Sygnum’s European and Asian home markets ▪️ @FireblocksHQ’s 1,800 institutional clients will also be able to access Sygnum Connect fiat settlements through the Fireblocks Network ▪️ Eliminates counterparty and settlement risks between members and is fully compliant with stringent Swiss regulatory, legal and security standards Thomas Eichenberger, Chief Product Officer at Sygnum Bank, says, “Sygnum Connect solves an important piece of the settlement puzzle by making transactions between participants in the global crypto ecosystem faster, cheaper, less risky and more reliable. Sygnum Connect is making a significant contribution to traditional financial system connectivity by empowering professional and institutional market participants to invest and transact in the digital asset economy with complete trust.” Read the full announcement here:

📍@thomas_brunner, Sygnum’s Head of custody and staking, will be speaking at @pointzeroforum's innovation tour at the @dfinity Foundation in Zurich at 9:00 CET on 1 July. Learn more as @thomas_brunner discusses “Advancing global financial systems and cybersecurity” with Robert Rogenmoser CEO (@securosys), @JanCamenisch CTO (@dfinity) and moderator @ian_simpson80 (@rulematch). Learn more here: lu.ma/pointzeroforum…

SEC approves 8 Ethereum spot ETFs. In a landmark move, the SEC has approved eight #Ethereum spot ETFs from major institutions such as BlackRock, Fidelity, and VanEck. The unexpected approval opens the doors for wider mainstream adoption of the leading smart contact platform. While the 19b-4 forms have given the green light, the ETF issuers still need their S-1 registration statements to go effective before trading can commence - a process that could take weeks, according to analysts. The quick approval may have been due to bipartisan pressure on the SEC to remain consistent following the Bitcoin spot ETF approvals back in January. According to one Bloomberg analyst, expected inflows into Ethereum #ETFs are to be smaller than those of Bitcoin ETFs, ranging from 10-15% the size of their Bitcoin counterparts. Read more here: theblock.co/post/296304/se…

Here's a preview of my statement to convince @SNB_BNS to start hodling #Bitcoin. This will be a long journey and might even take a public referendum to get there. @ZLOK @initiativeBTC "When I stood here two years ago, I suggested that the Swiss National Bank should sell one billion worth of European bonds per month and buy Bitcoins. With this strategy, our national bank could have amassed hundreds of thousands of Bitcoins at favourable prices. As of today, these Bitcoins would have more than doubled in value and we would have made a profit of over 30 billion. Instead, the national bank chose to keep most of its reserves in euro and dollar bonds, despite a track record of making losses with those. Even after the latest quarterly profit, the accumulated losses with foreign bonds since 2005 amount to 87 billion! In the same period, the SNB only paid out 42 billion to the federal government and the Cantons. Or in other words: the Swiss national bank finances more government spending for the eurozone than for its own people! I find it hard to understand why this isn’t a bigger topic. When we send one billion, the infamous Kohäsionsmilliarde, to Brussels, it causes a heated debate. But when we finance eurozone and US spending to the tune of dozens of billions, no one cares. Even worse, none of the foreign politicians would ever say: thank you Switzerland. In fact, the opposite is the case, showing that Bismarck was right when he noted: countries don’t have friends, only interests. And one interest of Switzerland and the Swiss people is to have a safe and stable currency. I firmly believe that it would strengthen the Swiss franc and the independence of the Swiss national bank if we spent less on loss-making government bonds and started hodling Bitcoin. To illustrate that most of you already know this on some level, I made a small poll with a very simple question: Imagine you had the possibility to send something of value to your great-grandchildren in the year 2099. Would you prefer them to get 50’000 soft euros or 1 hard Bitcoin? Your answer to this question should be the same as the answer to the question of what the Swiss national bank ought to do. Because its reserves essentially are a time capsule to send value to future generations and to ensure that they can benefit from a well-backed Swiss franc."

Today Uniswap Labs received a Wells notice from the SEC And we're ready to fight This is the latest political effort to target even the best actors in crypto like Uniswap and Coinbase All Uniswap products and the Uniswap Protocol are unaffected t.ly/rp7h8

Sygnum is proud to enable @PostFinance's crypto offering to its over 2.5 million customers. While our part of the collaboration centres on empowering them to offer cryptocurrencies, we are excited to see their innovative use of AI in creating the crypto scent. In February, @PostFinance launched trading and custody for 11 cryptocurrencies, including #Bitcoin and #Ethereum. @PostFinance is the first systemically important Swiss bank to launch such offering. ▪️ Discover @PostFinance's crypto fragrance: postfinance.ch/en/private/cam… ▪️ Learn more about Sygnum's partnership with @PostFinance: sygnum.com/news/postfinan… Disclaimer: sygnum.com/disclaimer-adv…

📰 Featured in @YahooFinance by @sndr_krisztian: Sygnum Tokenizes $50M of Fidelity International Fund as Matter Labs Moves Reserves to #Blockchain finance.yahoo.com/news/sygnum-to… @sndr_krisztian writes: “Sygnum Bank tokenized $50 million of assets in a Fidelity International's money-market fund on zkSync for Matter Labs, the developer behind the #Ethereum scaling network.” Read the article here: @the_matter_labs @Be1garat @nrpalao @Rico_Mueller @nayanatalwar @AliyaDG @thomas_brunner @Fidelity_DE @Fidelity_UK @zksync

🎬Mathias Imbach, Sygnum Bank's Co-Founder and Group CEO, onstage at the Digital Asset Summit 2024 in London: “Since Sygnum’s launch 5-6 years ago, we have seen demand grow from founders, individuals and traditional businesses like banks and asset managers keen to integrate with this exciting new world of digital assets.” Mathias talked about yesterday’s announcement of Sygnum tokenising Matter Labs’ treasury reserves in USD 6.9bn Fidelity MMF with speaker Emmanuelle Pecenicic (Fidelity International) and moderator Vassilis Tziokas (Matter Labs). Read the announcement here: sygnum.com/news/sygnum-ma… @the_matter_labs @Be1garat @sygnumofficial @nrpalao @Rico_Mueller @nayanatalwar @AliyaDG @thomas_brunner @Fidelity_DE @Fidelity_UK @zksync #blockchain #digitalassets

🎬 @PostFinance launches a crypto offering for 2.5 million customers, partnering with Sygnum Bank "Its value proposition will certainly resonate," says Fritz Jost, Chief B2B Officer at Sygnum Bank. With over 2.5 million customers, @PostFinance is the first systemically important Swiss bank to launch regulated trading and custody for 11 cryptocurrencies such as #Bitcoin and #Ethereum. You can read our announcement here: sygnum.com/news/postfinan… @nrpalao @nayanatalwar @Rico_Mueller @AliyaDG @thomas_brunner @nash_eq

🎤 @PostFinance launches a crypto offering for 2.5 million customers, partnering with Sygnum Bank Simon Kühne, Growth Lead, B2B Platform at Sygnum Bank, says: “Digital assets, enabled by a national champion like @PostFinance, are a strong signal of trust in this exciting asset class.” With over 2.5 million customers, @PostFinance is the first systemically important Swiss bank to launch regulated trading and custody for 11 cryptocurrencies such as #Bitcoin and #Ethereum. You can read our announcement here: sygnum.com/news/postfinan…

🎤 @PostFinance launches a crypto offering for 2.5 million customers, partnering with Sygnum Bank Philipp Merkt, Chief Investment Officer at @PostFinance, says, "Digital assets have become an integral part of the financial world, and our customers want access to this market from @PostFinance, their trusted principal bank. A reputable and established partner like Sygnum Bank with an excellent service offering is more important than ever."  With over 2.5 million customers, @PostFinance is the first systemically important Swiss bank to launch regulated trading and custody for 11 cryptocurrencies such as #Bitcoin and #Ethereum. You can read our announcement here: sygnum.com/news/postfinan…