by Switzerland is anchoring the European and Middle East expansion of one of the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency exchanges. The Bermuda-based FTX group is building its regional headquarters on the foundations of a small, yet successful, Swiss company that was established just two years ago. Like many projects I encounter in “Crypto Nation” SwitzerlandExternal link, Digital Assets came together in rapid time, surfing on the rising value of bitcoin. From the office of his law firm in the eastern Swiss canton of Appenzell Outer Rhodes, Patrick Gruhn chanced upon the profitable cryptocurrency advisory business during the bitcoin boom in the middle of the last decade. The law firm changed its name to Crypto Lawyers in 2018. Gruhn and his fellow crypto advocates
Topics:
Matthew Allen considers the following as important: 6c) Crypto Currencies English, Business, Featured, newsletter
This could be interesting, too:
Nachrichten Ticker - www.finanzen.ch writes Krypto-Ausblick 2025: Stehen Bitcoin, Ethereum & Co. vor einem Boom oder Einbruch?
Connor O'Keeffe writes The Establishment’s “Principles” Are Fake
Per Bylund writes Bitcoiners’ Guide to Austrian Economics
Ron Paul writes What Are We Doing in Syria?
Switzerland is anchoring the European and Middle East expansion of one of the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency exchanges.
The Bermuda-based FTX group is building its regional headquarters on the foundations of a small, yet successful, Swiss company that was established just two years ago.
Like many projects I encounter in “Crypto Nation” SwitzerlandExternal link, Digital Assets came together in rapid time, surfing on the rising value of bitcoin.
From the office of his law firm in the eastern Swiss canton of Appenzell Outer Rhodes, Patrick Gruhn chanced upon the profitable cryptocurrency advisory business during the bitcoin boom in the middle of the last decade.
The law firm changed its name to Crypto Lawyers in 2018. Gruhn and his fellow crypto advocates then struck upon the idea of transforming company shares into digital “tokens” for a new era of blockchain trading.
And so Digital Assets was born in July 2020. It soon entered partnerships with FTX (which specialises in crypto derivatives) and the even bigger exchange, Binance – as were both exploring ways to create and trade a wider array of digital assets.
“A lot of people back then were claiming big things, but not many delivered,” Gruhn told me. “We ran our business for over a year without any hiccups and proved that tokenized company shares could work.”
FTX has now taken over the business, moving it to central Switzerland and retaining key staff, including Gruhn as head of the re-named FTX Europe.
Gruhn plans to hire around 50 staff in Switzerland by the end of the year and wants to secure licenses to build a trading platform in the Alpine state. It already has permission to operate out of Cyprus through a partner investment firm.
“Our assumption is that in two or three years we would expect 35% of group trading volume to originate from Europe,” says Gruhn. Global trading at FTX Group has exploded over the last few months to reach a daily volume of some $14 billion.
No sooner had the newly created European and Middle East Division of FTX been announced than it achieved a notable milestone. The award of a Virtual Asset Exchange and Clearing House license in Dubai has extended FTX’s reach into one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency hubs.
The United Arab Emirates are moving swiftly and ambitiously to capture a large slice of the global cryptocurrency and digital asset market.
Europe may prove a tougher nut to crack. Britain bans crypto derivatives trading among the general public. Quite a few crypto exchanges have tried, and failed, to enter the Swiss market. The financial regulator places heavy licensing demands on wannabe exchanges.
Gruhn’s company Digital Assets should not be confused with the US tech giant Digital Asset, which entered the Swiss market in 2016 by taking over the small Zurich-based company Elevence Digital Finance.
Elevence had developed a computer language for powering “smart contracts” – coding that automates transactions on distributed ledger technology systems.
That “Digital Asset Modeling Language” (DAML) is now an integral part of the Digital Asset success story and is utilized by the likes of the Australian and Hong Kong stock exchanges, Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas.
It just goes to show that Crypto Nation Switzerland is not just about foundations and lawyers – it also plays a role in developing technology innovations.
You Might Also Like
Swiss economic prospects for 2022 dampened but not decimated
2022-03-17
The Swiss economics ministry has downgraded its growth forecast for 2022 due to the war in Ukraine. But it still predicts a solid post-pandemic upswing.
Crypto is SPECULATION
2022-03-16
Warren Buffett is one of the largest and most successful investors in the world and one of the richest people in the United States with a fortune of more than 100 billion dollars. Business tycoon, philanthropist, and one of the largest American investor through history and CEO of Bershire Hathaway.
Swiss crypto industry unfazed by New Year bitcoin crash
2022-01-10
The New Year has started with a sharp fall in the price of bitcoin – and some intriguing stories surrounding the Swiss cryptocurrency scene.
Watchmaking workforce remains stable despite pandemic
2021-12-28
The annual census of the Swiss watch industry labour force found that partial unemployment helped the industry weather the pandemic over the last year. The number of employees in the industry remained stable in 2021 while the share of high skilled staff increased.
How a secretive central bankers’ club responds to crises
2021-12-24
Every other month, the world’s most influential central bank governors gather in Basel to swap notes, reinforce personal ties and untangle the technical details of keeping money flowing around the world.
Falcon bank fined for money laundering, ex-CEO acquitted
2021-12-18
A Swiss court has found the Zurich-based Falcon Private Bank guilty of money-laundering offences. The Federal Criminal CourtExternal link on Wednesday ordered the Abu Dhabi-owned bankExternal link to pay a fine of CHF3.5 million ($3.8 million) for failing to set up the necessary controls. It was the first time that a Swiss bank was taken to court over accusations of money laundering.
Why Switzerland props up its ailing sugar industry
2021-12-11
Every year from October to December more than 1.5 million tonnes of sugar beets grown in Switzerland are harvested to supply the country’s sugar industry – an industry being kept alive by massive government subsidies. SWI swissinfo.ch reports from Aarberg, home to the country’s largest sugar factory.
Call to tap potential of professional working women
2021-11-17
Women make up half of the highly skilled workforce in Switzerland, but work fewer hours, according to a study published on Tuesday. One in three would like to work more, under certain conditions.
Tags: Business,Featured,newsletter