Sygnum Bank Secures 750 BTC for Bitcoin Yield Fund

Digital asset banking group Sygnum has successfully completed the initial phase of the Starboard Sygnum BTC Alpha Fund, raising “over 750” Bitcoin (BTC) from investors in just four months.

Key Takeaways

Sygnum has raised over 750 BTC for its Starboard Sygnum BTC Alpha Fund within four months, indicating strong interest from professional investors.
The fund leverages arbitrage opportunities to generate yield while maintaining a market-neutral stance.
Sygnum’s fund aims to provide annual returns of 8%-10% in BTC, achieving an annualised return of 8.9% in Q4 2025.
There is a growing trend among investors to seek additional returns beyond price appreciation, especially in a changing market landscape.

Bitcoin

This interest from professional and institutional investors highlights a growing demand for actively managed Bitcoin strategies. According to Sygnum, these strategies can provide yield independently of fluctuations in the spot price.

The BTC Alpha Fund employs institutional-grade service providers and is available to qualified professional investors in approved markets such as Switzerland and Singapore.

The fund enables investors to increase their BTC holdings over time while still maintaining exposure to the long-term price potential of Bitcoin.

“The strategy exploits pricing discrepancies across major crypto markets by utilizing arbitrage opportunities between spot and derivatives instruments,” the firm explains.

Importantly, the fund also maintains a “market-neutral exposure” aimed at minimizing dependence on Bitcoin’s daily price variations.

Additionally, the fund is closely tied to Sygnum’s banking services. Certain clients can use fund shares as collateral for USD Lombard Loans, providing “liquidity for other opportunities without the need to sell their fund positions.”

This initiative addresses a challenge faced by long-term Bitcoin holders, according to the team.

Nikolas Skarlatos from Starboard Digital Strategies noted, “Generating yield on Bitcoin while still benefiting from its appreciation potential has been a longstanding challenge for institutional investors.”

Q4 Delivers Annualised 8.9% Net Return

Sygnum referred to a report indicating that 68% of institutional investors have either invested in BTC exchange-traded products or are considering such investments. There is a rising interest in professionally managed, yield-generating strategies, which the BTC Alpha Fund aims to provide.

The Starboard Sygnum BTC Alpha Fund, launched in October 2025 by Sygnum and Starboard Digital Strategies, offers tailored investment products and market-neutral strategies from its Athens-based team.

Upon its inception, the fund aimed for annual returns of 8%-10% in BTC through market-neutral arbitrage trading.

According to the latest press release, the fund achieved an annualised net return of 8.9% in BTC for the last quarter of 2025.

Markus Hämmerli, head of the BTC Alpha Fund, stated, “The fund’s performance in Q4 demonstrates that professional Bitcoin management can yield significant results even when spot markets remain flat or declining.”

Notably, the investment teams observed a shift among investors moving “from pure directional calls to generating additional returns that can withstand various market conditions.”

This insight comes amid significant fluctuations in exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows while spot BTC is experiencing “a structurally declining volatility.”

The creators of the fund designed it specifically for investors looking to generate yield within an institutional-grade framework. It offers monthly liquidity while keeping assets off-exchange.

“As Bitcoin becomes a central part of institutional investors' portfolios, we are witnessing an increasing demand for strategies that can deliver returns beyond mere price appreciation,” Hämmerli concluded.