Bitcoin Suisse
Bitcoin Suisse[edit]
Bitcoin Suisse AG is a Swiss-regulated crypto-financial services provider, based in Zug, Switzerland.[1]
The company, established in 2013, is headed by CEO Arthur Vayloyan and Founder and Chairman Niklas Nikolajsen. It is a regulated Swiss financial intermediary (SRO – VQF member) since 2014[1] and offers services in regard to cryptocurrencies. The company has offices in Zug, Vaduz and Copenhagen. Bitcoin Suisse has grown to over 170 employees.[2][3]
History[edit]
Bitcoin Suisse AG was founded in 2013 by Niklas Nikolajsen in Zug, Switzerland, and operates in the field of crypto-financial services. The company is part of a cluster of digital firms and fintech companies in the Swiss canton of Zug, also known as Crypto Valley.[4][2]
In June 2014, Bitcoin Suisse launched the first Bitcoin ATM in Switzerland. Later, the operation of Bitcoin ATMs was transferred to Värdex Suisse AG.[5][6]
In July 2014, Bitcoin Suisse AG joined the Association for Quality Assurance of Financial Services (VQF), a self-regulatory organization (SRO), and became the first member specializing in crypto assets.[7][8]
Bitcoin Suisse AG helped the Ethereum Foundation facilitate its crowdsale in August 2014.[9]
Bitcoin Suisse AG developed a cryptocurrency payment system that was launched by the Zug City Council in July 2016. The city of Zug was the first government institution in the world to accept Bitcoin as a payment option.[10]
In 2017, Bitcoin Suisse AG partnered with Falcon Private Bank to allow its clients to invest in cryptocurrencies.[11]
In November 2017, Arthur Vayloyan joined Bitcoin Suisse AG as CEO. Niklas Nikolajsen was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors.[12]
In November 2018, Bitcoin Suisse AG joined the Swiss Blockchain Federation as a founding member, where Arthur Vayloyan is a member of the Board of Directors.[13]
In December 2018, Bitcoin Suisse AG established Bitcoin Suisse (Liechtenstein) AG.[14]
In July 2019, Bitcoin Suisse AG filed an application with FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority) for a Swiss banking license.[15]
In November 2019, Bitcoin Suisse AG announced that it had signed a contract to partner with Worldline to offer cryptocurrency payment services to Swiss merchants and consumers in both physical stores and web stores.[16]
In December 2019, the company announced a collaboration to form 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 whitepaper to implement the FATF's Travel Rule for virtual assets.[17]
Since January 2020, Zermatt has accepted Bitcoin as a payment method for taxes using Bitcoin Suisse AG's payment services.[18]
In July 2020, Bitcoin Suisse AG completed its Series A fundraising of CHF 45 million. This resulted in a company valuation of CHF 302.5 million.[19]
Since August 2020, the health insurance company Atupri has been accepting cryptocurrencies. This was made possible by the Payment Solutions of Bitcoin Suisse AG.[20]
In addition, Bitcoin Suisse AG supported the launch of the so-called Ethereum 2 Beacon Chain with its staking services. The second block of the new Ethereum 2 blockchain was proposed by Bitcoin Suisse.[21]
Products and Services[edit]
Trading of cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin Suisse is a financial intermediary that executes cryptocurrency trading on behalf of clients.[22]
Custody of cryptocurrencies
For the safekeeping of crypto assets, Bitcoin Suisse AG offers its own custody solution, which is revised according to ISAE 3402.[23]
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
Bitcoin Suisse accompanies ICO organizers and offers various services in this context.[24]
Staking
Bitcoin Suisse AG offers staking services for various cryptocurrencies.[25]
Payment solution for government institutions
Bitcoin Suisse is the payment terminal provider for the city of Zug, the first government institution in the world to accept Bitcoin payments for public services.[1]
Physical crypto certificates
Since 2014, Bitcoin Suisse issued a number of physical crypto-certificates.[26]
Subsidiaries[edit]
Swiss Crypto Vault AG
Swiss Crypto Vault AG is the technology provider for Bitcoin Suisse AG's custody offering and specializes in the safekeeping of crypto assets. In November 2019, Swiss Crypto Vault AG successfully completed a series of independent audits, including ISAE 3402 reporting.[23]
Swiss Crypto Tokens AG
To provide services related to token issuance, Bitcoin Suisse AG founded Swiss Crypto Tokens AG in July 2018, which facilitated the development of the stablecoin "Crypto Franc".[27]
Paricipation in the OpenVASP initiative[edit]
OpenVASP is an open protocol presented in a whitepaper by David Riegelnig, 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 collaborate and support the OpenVASP initiative with an open source technical implementation of the proposed protocol. EPAM has since joined this working group as well.[28][29]
Regulation[edit]
Bitcoin Suisse AG is regulated by the self-regulatory organization VQF (The Financial Services Standards Association), on behalf of the FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Authority).
This article "Bitcoin Suisse" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Bitcoin Suisse. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Verwaltung in Zug akzeptiert Bitcoin als Zahlungsmittel". Handelszeitung (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2020-08-14.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Handelsregister Kanton Zug". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Bitcoin Suisse". Bitcoin Suisse. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ Skinner, Barnaby. "Geldregen am Zugersee". Tages-Anzeiger. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Värdex Suisse | About Us". www.vaerdex.ch. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Bitcoin: Berg- und Talfahrt einer Revolution - HZ". Handelszeitung (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Crypto Industry Now Comprises 7% of Switzerland's Largest SRO: Report". Cointelegraph. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ FINMA, Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht. "SRO-Mitglieder-Suche". Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht FINMA (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Bitcoin Suisse Celebrates Five-Year Anniversary". Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH. 2018-08-23. Retrieved 2020-12-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Verwaltung in Zug akzeptiert Bitcoin als Zahlungsmittel". Handelszeitung (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Falcon Private Bank to expand crypto-asset management with Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) through cooperation with Bitcoin Suisse AG". www.businesswire.com. 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Arthur Vayloyan wird doch CEO – in der Bitcoin-Branche". finews.ch (in Deutsch). 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Über uns – Blockchain Federation" (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Bitcoin Suisse (Liechtenstein) AG". Handelsregister des Fürstentums Liechtenstein. Retrieved 2020-12-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ swissinfo.ch. "Bitcoin Suisse bids for crypto bank status". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Bitcoin Suisse und Worldline bauen die Akzeptanz von Kryptowährungen als Zahlungsmittel in der Schweiz aus". de.worldline.com. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ CVJ.CH (2020-05-11). "Die OpenVasp Initiative". Crypto Valley Journal (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Swiss Ski Resort Zermatt Now Accepts Bitcoin to Pay Taxes". Bloomberg.com. 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Bitcoin Suisse schließt 42 Millionen Euro Funding-Runde ab". BTC-ECHO (in Deutsch). 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ Städeli, Markus. "Atupri nimmt neu Bitcoin und Ether entgegen". NZZ am Sonntag (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain (Phase 0) Block Chain Explorer - Slot 2 - beaconcha.in - 2020". beaconcha.in. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Buy & Sell Cryptocurrencies". Bitcoin Suisse. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 CVJ.CH (2019-11-15). "Bitcoin Suisse Vault schliesst Audits erfolgreich ab". Crypto Valley Journal (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Bitcoin Suisse geht auf die Banken zu". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 2020-12-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Staking Cryptocurrencies & Earn Rewards | Bitcoin Suisse". Bitcoin Suisse. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "Bitcoin: Digitale Währung jetzt als Geldschein". Bitcoin Suisse. 2018-06-15. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ swissinfo.ch. "Crypto bond catapults Swiss franc onto blockchain". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ "EPAM Joins Effort to Help Cryptocurrency Exchanges Comply With FATF 'Travel Rule'". CoinDesk. 2020-04-16. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ↑ Grundlehner, Werner. "Krypto-Zahlungen: Finma fordert Adresszettel". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2020-12-31.
