Sygnum, SBI and Azimut Group launch US$75m VC fund focused on digital asset space

SINGAPORE-BASED digital asset manager Sygnum, Japanese fintech conglomerate SBI and European asset manager Azimut Group have launched a US$75 million venture capital fund to back startup companies in the digital asset space.

Based in Singapore and incorporated as a variable capital company, the new fund will focus on pre-Series A and Series A companies, across Europe and South-east Asia, developing blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) infrastructure, decentralised finance solutions, as well as regulatory technology tools. It will be managed by SBI's venture capital arm, SBI Ven Capital.

Innovations in the digital asset space will play a key role in the future across various sectors, with up to 10 per cent of global gross domestic product projected to be stored and transacted using DLT infrastructure by 2027, Sygnum said in a statement on Thursday, quoting figures from the World Economic Forum.

Demand for regulatory technology tools by digital asset service providers and clients is also expected to increase as regulators tighten their oversight on this sector, it noted.

"The fund is poised to take advantage of significant venture capital inflows into the industry," it said, citing a CoinDesk report in August stating that crypto firms took some 6 per cent of all global venture capital funding year-to-date. Seven of the 10 largest blockchain/DLT and cryptocurrency funding rounds closed this year, further highlighting the growth trajectory that the sector has embarked on.