Bank exec explains how Switzerland’s massive wealth channels are opening up to crypto

Sygnum is one of the few cryptocurrency banks operating in Europe.

On this episode of The Scoop, Mathias Imbach Co-Founder and Group CEO of Sygnum joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss the country's crypto ecosystem and how large wealth channels are opening up to bitcoin and other digital assets.

“Nowadays, the conversation goes very different," said Imbach. "There's very few banks in Switzerland which have not made it a strategic priority to really think [supporting digital assets] through. Some would still say, 'right now we want to not touch it for x, y, z reasons,' but there needs to be a strategic rationale. They need to have an answer to clients, why they do it or why they don't do it."

Sygnum's clients aren't just interested in crypto assets, but all real-world assets that are traded on a blockchain.

“It's about creating a more direct link between what we own and how we transfer it,” he said.

For that reason, Sygnum is currently exploring the tokenization of wines and other pieces of art for clients who also want to own fractionalized shares of such assets.

“If you accumulate 100 percent equivalent of a wine bottle, you can also then burn the tokens and take physical delivery of the wine. So basically, you're creating this digital, but at the same time still a real asset, kind of convergence, where you can take it, use it as an investment opportunity, as a financial gains opportunity, with liquidity along the way.”

Episode 64 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Mathias Imbach, co-founder & Group CEO at Sygnum.

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