Katherine Ross

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



One of the biggest narratives we’ve discussed a lot is the rise of institutional adoption.&nbsp;



Sygnum, the digital asset banking group, is no stranger to the shift and announced yesterday that it’s seen a 400% increase in its average annual growth in trading volumes since 2020.&nbsp;



“What we have seen over the past year and a half is a significant number of traditional institutional trading counterparties coming into the industry and gaining interest in using our solutions to delve into the space,” Sygnum’s Head of Corporate Clients, Néstor Palao, told me.



“We talk about brokerage firms, prime brokers, investment funds and family offices that see, in Sygnum, a regulated gateway into this industry. And this, I would say, indeed, is something that we have seen growing.”



But the change — and overall growth in the industry — has led to crypto projects themselves evolving.&nbsp;



Specifically, Palao noted that startups have been approaching Sygnum more and more. In the past, they’d just seek out a bank account so that they could pay employees or contractors, since traditional banks were, well, not so welcoming.&nbsp;



But over the last few years, projects have come to Sygnum and “professionalized themselves significantly.” Palao explained that these projects now have a finance department, not just a founding team, and “professionalize the management of their capital.”



“We see projects daily that launch a project; they manage to raise a significant amount of capital, or their token gains a lot of attention, and they end up sitting on a very significant balance of treasury assets,” he explained.&nbsp;



“In the beginning, it was purely to ‘Give me a bank account so I can pay my employees.’ Now, it’s still that, but it’s also a lot more about, ‘How can I properly manage my treasury of tokens? How can I hedge my exposure? How can I generate yield on my holdings?’”



What Palao told us lines up with what we’ve seen in other segments around crypto, too. Back in February, PitchBook’s Robert Le <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/q4-deal-values-jump">noted</a> that the rebound in venture capital activity was pretty focused on “established” teams.&nbsp;



Oh, how time flies…



Updated April 30, 2025 at 11:35 am ET: Modified headline.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/the-breakdown">The Breakdown</a>: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/0xresearch">0xResearch</a>: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst. </li>
</ul>

Banking

Sygnum sees a 400% increase in average annual trading volume growth since 2020

Macauley Peterson

<div id="highlights-block_61559b81a94fc" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Fund to focus on blockchain infrastructure, DeFi and regulatory technology tools in Europe and Southeast Asia</li>
 <li>SBI estimated up to 10% of global GDP projected will be stored and transacted using DLT infrastructure by 2027</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Japan’s largest FinTech conglomerate, SBI Group, joins the world’s first digital asset bank Sygnum and Azimut Group a leading independent asset manager in Europe to launch a venture capital fund of up to $75 million which will invest in start-up companies in the digital asset sector.



The Singapore-incorporated fund, dubbed Variable Capital Company, aims to &#8220;accelerate the growth of promising companies in this sector, while providing qualifying investors with unrivalled access to the fast-growing digital asset economy,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.insights.sygnum.com/post/sbi-sygnum-and-azimut-launch-a-digital-asset-sector-focused-venture-capital-fund" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a Sygnum press release</a>.



The investment strategy will focus on early stage start-ups developing blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) infrastructure, decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions and regulatory technology tools.



This year has seen a tremendous <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=funding" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">influx of funding into crypto</a>, Sygnum notes, through the first half of 2021 along, over $17 billion of investments have flooded the space including seven of the ten largest blockchain/DLT and cryptocurrency funding rounds of all time.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“DLT and digital assets are at the inflection point of mainstream adoption, and they have the potential to reduce inefficiencies and unlock new capabilities across several sectors, such as financial services and supply chain management,” said Ryosuke Hayashi, CEO and Managing Director of SBI Ven Capital.</blockquote>



Funds are almost routinely raising hundreds of millions of dollars to invest in new technology startups. Earlier this month, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/as-crypto-vc-funding-hits-record-high-pantera-launched-600m-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pantera Capital announced</a> a new $600 million blockchain fund. In fact, Blockworks <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-venture-funding-is-at-an-all-time-high-this-is-where-the-money-is-going/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previously reported</a> that crypto venture capital is at an all-time high.



Regulatory technology (or reg tech) is another major theme of the new fund. The trio of companies believes that increased oversight by regulators of the digital asset sector will require new tools for digital asset service providers and their clients.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>
Are you a UK or EU reader that can’t get enough investor-focused content on digital assets? <a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/das-london/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Join us</a>&nbsp;in London on November 15th and 16th for the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) London. Use code ARTICLE for £75 off your ticket.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/das-london/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Buy it now</a>.
<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>