Cryptocurrency company Sygnum is planning to apply for a banking license in Singapore.
The company, which is based in both Switzerland and Singapore, has been talking with regulators and petitioned for a capital markets services license, which will allow the firm to offer asset management as a first step into financial services, co-founders Mathias Imbach and Gerald Goh said, according to Deal Street Asia.
“In order for us to provide a full suite of services, we need to operate as a bank” in Singapore, said Goh. The company is expected to become a full bank in Switzerland this year.
In other news, Constellation Network, a San Francisco-based technology and blockchain company, announced that it has signed a working contract with the United States Air Force (USAF).
“It’s a match at the right time with the right partner,” said Benjamin Diggles, VP of business development at Constellation, adding, “the USAF has a multitude of data sources like drones, planes, and satellites that need to be secured. Clean and consolidated data that can be queried instantly is a big need within the defense apparatus.”
And BitPAC, the first bitcoin political action committee (PAC), revealed that it will expand its candidate supporting program with an initial coin offering (ICO).
“BitPAC has its own funds, but we’re also doing an initial coin offering,” said Dan Backer, the group’s founder, according to CoinDesk. “Anyone who donates to [the PAC] as of [Friday] can get one politicoin.”
The ICO will support Dan Bishop, a North Carolina state senator running for the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election. But there are plans for the platform to expand so voters can show support for any candidate, as long as they’re registered with the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC).
“I think it’s going to be interesting to see. Win or lose, we’re going to learn a lot about this process,” said Backer.