The small but wealthy nation of Switzerland is emerging as the center of the blockchain and cryptocurrency revolution, drawing investors in pursuit of opportunities provided by the developing technology and asset class.
Indeed, even before Bitcoin became all the rage, the country’s biggest city, Zurich, set up the first Bitcoin ATM in 2015. Since 2016, the Swiss national railway company has made it possible to buy the digital currency at more than 1,000 distributors around the country.
Crypto Valley
Even the small town of Zug has reinvented itself as a "Crypto Valley" after attracting numerous cryptocurrency players over the past few years. The choice of Zug as a digital asset destination seems a smart decision as the affluent municipality has been home to tens of thousands of large wealth management and investment firms, commodity traders, pharmaceutical companies, and other businesses. Its attraction lies in its business-friendly taxation regime.
But Zug’s reputation as the new Crypto Valley is no accident. In 2013, the local government drew up plans to attract startup companies engaged in cryptocurrency creation, technology, and trading.
The plan has apparently worked: data from Swiss financial watchdog Finma showed that four out of the six biggest initial coin offerings (ICOs) in the world were launched in Switzerland.
Today, Zug houses an estimated 200 blockchain firms, including the foundation that created Ethereum - the second largest digital currency by market capitalization. The town has also accepted Bitcoin as payments for council services since 2016.
Inspired by Zug’s success, the southern Italian-speaking town of Chiasso has also approved accepting Bitcoin as payments for several taxes. Chiasso is aiming to become Switzerland’s next "CryptoPolis".
Bitfinex weighs moving to Switzerland
Whether it’s the regulatory landscape, the business-friendly environment, or just the Alpine scenery, the fact remains that Switzerland continues to be a favorite destination for corporate headquarters.
Last week, digital currency exchange Bitfinex announced plans to transfer its base of operations from Hong Kong to Switzerland or London.
Bitfinex, the fifth largest crypto exchange, is in talks with Swiss authorities and has met with the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) and Johann Schneider-Ammann, head of the Economic Department of Switzerland.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
