Sygnia, South African investment management firm, has announced that it plans to launch a crypto exchange by Q4, 2018.
Currently Sygnia Ltd. manages ZAR 184 billion (about $14,7 billion USD) worth of assets and has offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.
Magda Wierzycka, the chief executive officer of Sygnia, described the launch of a crypto exchange as one of new strategic initiatives that will position Sygnia for the evolving digital future, as well as help its new business development and distribution efforts.
«With its fintech focus, Sygnia is well-positioned to become the first major financial services institution to embrace cryptocurrencies and to offer investors a secure trading and execution platform backed by an international infrastructure, well-designed custody, and integration with standard savings products», – Magda Weirzycka stated.
Sygnia intends to operate its cryptocurrency exchange according to the principles underpinning New York’s legislative apparatus pertaining to virtual currencies. The Sygnia CEO stated:
«To ensure the highest levels of integrity and security for clients, we are basing our policies, protocols, and processes on existing regulatory framework applicable to cryptocurrency exchanges registered in New York State, USA».
As to South Africa’s regulatory apparatus, Magda Wierzycka acknowledged the South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) move to tax investments and trades made in cryptocurrencies, adding that the company expects further regulatory frameworks to follow.
Sygnia also announced its intention to launch a «Sygnia Cryptocurrency Fund» aimed at institutional investors.
A few days ago, South African authorities launched an investigation into an alleged cryptocurrency ponzi scheme estimated to have defrauded investors of approximately 1 billion rand ($80 million USD). The alleged ponzi scheme, BTC Global, purported to offer clients returns of 2% daily, 14% weekly, and 50% monthly.
