Bitcoin Suisse

Bitcoin Suisse
legal form	Corporation
founding	2013
Seat	Zug , Switzerland
management	Arthur Vayloyan , CEO
Number of employees	142
Website	www.bitcoinsuisse.com

Bitcoin Suisse is a Swiss financial services provider specializing in crypto assets and based in Zug , Switzerland.

The company was founded in 2013 and is led by CEO Arthur Vayloyan and Chairman of the Board of Directors Niklas Nikolajsen (Co-Founder). As a regulated Swiss financial intermediary (SRO - member of the VQF), Bitcoin Suisse AG has been offering prime brokerage, custody, collateralized lending, staking, tokenization and other crypto financial services for private, institutional and corporate customers since 2014. Today the company employs more than 140 people in Zug, Vaduz and Copenhagen.

Company history

Bitcoin Suisse AG was founded in 2013 by Niklas Nikolajsen in Zug (Switzerland) and is active in the field of crypto financial services. The company is part of a cluster of digital and fin-tech companies in the Swiss canton of Zug , also known as Crypto Valley .

In June 2014, Bitcoin Suisse launched the first Bitcoin ATM in Switzerland. The operation of the Bitcoin ATMs was later transferred to one of the subsidiaries, Värdex Suisse AG.

In July 2014 Bitcoin Suisse AG joined the Association for the Quality Assurance of Financial Services (VQF), a self-regulatory organization (SRO), and became the first member to specialize in crypto assets.

Bitcoin Suisse AG helped the Ethereum Foundation in August 2014 to enable its crowdsale.

Bitcoin Suisse AG developed a payment system for cryptocurrencies that was introduced by the government of the Zug city council in July 2016. The city of Zug was the first public corporation in the world to accept Bitcoin as a payment option.

Bitcoin Suisse AG has been cooperating with Falcon Private Bank since 2017 to enable their customers to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Arthur Vayloyan joined Bitcoin Suisse AG as CEO in November 2017. Niklas Nikolajsen was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors.

In November 2018, Bitcoin Suisse AG joined the Swiss Blockchain Federation as a founding member, where Vayloyan is a member of the board of directors.

In December 2018, Bitcoin Suisse AG founded Bitcoin Suisse (Liechtenstein) AG.

In July 2019, Bitcoin Suisse AG submitted an application to FINMA (Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht) for a Swiss banking license in accordance with the Swiss Banking Act, Art.1a, combined with an application for a securities dealer license, regulated by the Federal Act on Stock Exchanges and Securities Trading ( BEHG).

In November 2019, Bitcoin Suisse AG announced the signing of a letter of intent to partner with Worldline to offer Swiss merchants and consumers payment services in cryptocurrency both in stores and in web shops.

In December 2019, the company announced a collaboration in forming a working group with Lykke, SEBA Bank AG and Sygnum AG to support the OpenVASP initiative with an open source technical implementation of the proposed protocol. OpenVASP is an open protocol presented in a white paper to implement the FATF's Travel Rule for Virtual Assets.

Since January 2020, Zermatt has accepted Bitcoin as a means of payment for taxes using the payment services of Bitcoin Suisse AG.

In July 2020, Bitcoin Suisse AG completed its Series A Fundraising Round A for CHF 45 million.

Products and services

Trading cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin Suisse is a financial intermediary that handles the trading of cryptocurrencies for customers.

Storage of cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin Suisse AG offers its own safekeeping for the safekeeping of crypto assets. Bitcoin Suisse's custody solution has been revised according to ISAE 3402 .

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)

Bitcoin Suisse accompanies ICO organizers and offers various services in this context.

Staking

Bitcoin Suisse AG offers staking services for various cryptocurrencies.

Payment solution for government institutions

Bitcoin Suisse is the payment terminal provider for the city ​​of Zug , the first public body worldwide to accept Bitcoin payments for public services.

Physical bitcoin certificates

Bitcoin Suisse has been issuing a range of physical Bitcoin certificates since 2014.

Subsidiaries

Swiss Crypto Vault AG

Swiss Crypto Vault AG is the technology provider for the custody offer from Bitcoin Suisse AG and specializes in the custody of crypto assets. In November 2019, Swiss Crypto Vault AG successfully completed a series of independent audits, including reporting according to ISAE 3402 .

Swiss Crypto Tokens AG

In order to provide services in connection with the issue of tokens, Bitcoin Suisse AG founded Swiss Crypto Tokens AG in July 2018, which enabled the development of the stablecoin "Crypto Franc".

Participation in the OpenVASP initiative

OpenVASP is an open protocol, which was presented in a white paper by David Riegelig, Head Risk Management at Bitcoin Suisse AG, to implement the FATF rule for virtual assets. In December 2019 the company announced the formation of a working group with Lykke, SEBA Bank AG and Sygnum AG to support the OpenVASP initiative with a technical open source implementation of the proposed protocol. EPAM has now also joined this working group.

regulation

Bitcoin Suisse is subject to the self-regulatory organization VQF (Association for Quality Assurance of Financial Services) recognized, regulated and supervised by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA .

Web links

• Website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bitcoin Suisse - Contact. Retrieved June 25, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Arthur Vayloyan becomes CEO after all - in the Bitcoin industry. November 20, 2017, accessed on April 21, 2020 (German). 
3. ↑ Extract from the commercial register of the Canton of Zug on Bitcoin Suisse. Retrieved June 25, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Bitcoin Suisse. Retrieved June 25, 2018 . 
5. ↑ How blockchains are turning the financial world upside down - balance sheet. Retrieved June 25, 2018 . 
6. ↑ Barnaby Skinner data journalist @ BarJack: Money revolution on Lake Zug . In: Tages-Anzeiger, Tages-Anzeiger . July 3, 2018, ISSN  1422-9994 ( tagesanzeiger.ch [accessed June 25, 2018]).
7. ↑ Zoug, en Suisse, center mondial de la cryptofinance . January 11, 2017 ( levif.be [accessed June 25, 2018]).
8. ↑ Erich Aschwanden: The tax bailiff knocks on the Bitcoin owners | NZZ . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . December 12, 2017, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed June 25, 2018]).
9. ↑ Bitcoin: The ups and downs of a revolution. Retrieved April 21, 2020 . 
10. ↑ Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA: SRO member search. Retrieved April 21, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Crypto Industry Now Comprises 7% of Switzerland's Largest SRO: Report. Retrieved April 21, 2020 (English). 
12. ↑ Company Announcement: Bitcoin Suisse Celebrates Five-Year Anniversary. In: Fintech News. Retrieved April 21, 2020 . 
13. ↑ Administration in Zug accepts Bitcoin as a means of payment. Retrieved April 21, 2020 . 
14. ↑ Falcon Private Bank to expand crypto-asset management with Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) through cooperation with Bitcoin Suisse AG. August 16, 2017, accessed April 21, 2020 . 
15. ↑ Arthur Vayloyan becomes CEO after all - in the Bitcoin industry. November 20, 2017, accessed on April 21, 2020 (German). 
16. ↑ About us - Blockchain Federation. Accessed April 21, 2020 (German). 
17. ↑ Bitcoin Suisse (Liechtenstein) AG. In: Commercial Register of the Principality of Liechtenstein. Retrieved April 21, 2020 . 
18. ↑ From Bank Frick to Bitcoin Suisse - Mauro Casellini Takes on a New Role. In: Fintech Switzerland Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH. April 8, 2019, accessed April 21, 2020 (American English). 
19. ↑ Matthew Allen swissinfo.ch: Bitcoin Suisse bids for crypto bank status. Retrieved April 21, 2020 (English). 
20. ↑ Olivia Chang: Bitcoin Suisse, Worldline aim to make crypto payments a shopping reality. In: CNNMoney Switzerland. November 10, 2019, accessed August 21, 2020 (American English). 
21. ↑ Swiss Ski Resort Zermatt Now Accepts Bitcoin to Pay Taxes. Accessed August 21, 2020 . 
22. ↑ Bitcoin Suisse: entrée en Bourse prévue au plus tôt dans deux ans. Retrieved August 21, 2020 (French). 
23. ↑ New Bitcoin Suisse CEO: Closer cooperation with Swiss banks | 11/28/17 | finanzen.ch . In: finanzen.ch . ( finanzen.ch [accessed June 25, 2018]).
24. ↑ Bitcoin Suisse Vault successfully completes audits. In: Crypto Valley Journal. November 15, 2019, accessed on March 23, 2020 (German). 
25. ↑ ^{a b} Werner Grundlehner: Bitcoin Suisse is approaching the banks. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. November 27, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2018 . 
26. ↑ Pilot project in Zug: Swiss city accepts bitcoins as a means of payment . In: Spiegel Online . May 10, 2016 ( spiegel.de [accessed June 25, 2018]).
27. ↑ Zug residents can now pay with Bitcoins. In: 20 minutes online. July 1, 2016, accessed June 25, 2018 . 
28. ↑ PILOT PROJECT: City of Zug tests payment with Bitcoin | Lucerne newspaper . In: Lucerne newspaper . ( luzernerzeitung.ch [accessed June 25, 2018]).
29. ↑ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Alpine 'Crypto Valley' pays with Bitcoins | DW | 07/01/2016. Retrieved June 25, 2018 . 
30. ↑ Seen as global first, Swiss town to accept bitcoin payments . ( phys.org [accessed June 25, 2018]).
31. ↑ Zug is the first city in the world to use Bitcoin. In: 20 minutes online. May 10, 2016, accessed June 25, 2018 . 
32. ↑ Bitcoin: digital currency now as bank note - trading newspaper . In: Handelszeitung . ( handelszeitung.ch [accessed June 25, 2018]).
33. ↑ Matthias Sander: Zug-based company sells Bitcoin notes | NZZ . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . October 10, 2014, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed June 25, 2018]).
34. ↑ Bitcoin: digital currency now as a banknote. In: Bitcoin Suisse. March 17, 2016, accessed June 25, 2018 . 
35. ↑ Bitcoin Suisse Vault successfully completes audits. In: Crypto Valley Journal. November 15, 2019, accessed on April 21, 2020 (German). 
36. ↑ Matthew Allen swissinfo.ch: Crypto bond catapults Swiss franc onto blockchain. Retrieved April 21, 2020 (English). 
37. ↑ Werner Grundlehner: Crypto payments: Finma requests address slip . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . ( nzz.ch [accessed on April 21, 2020]).
38. ↑ EPAM Joins Effort to Help Cryptocurrency Exchanges Comply With FATF 'Travel Rule'. April 16, 2020, accessed April 21, 2020 . 
39. ↑ Bitcoin Suisse AG. FINMA, accessed on May 23, 2018 . 
40. ↑ VQF Membership Confirmation. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: Bitcoin Suisse. May 4, 2016, formerly in the original ; accessed on June 25, 2018 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.