Leading Crypto Broker Seeks Banking License in Switzerland

Bitcoin Suisse AG, a Swiss crypto financial broker, is the latest business to attempt to form a bridge between traditional banking and digital assets. 

The company submitted an application to the Swiss Financial Markets Supervision Authority for a banking license, according to a press release. They also applied for a securities dealers’ license.

“These licenses would allow Bitcoin Suisse to further expand its offering with regulated services and products, thereby strengthening its position as a leading provider of crypto financial services. Bitcoin Suisse is adapting to a changing regulatory landscape, where more and more crypto assets and services fall under securities and banking law…

As the oldest and largest crypto financial service provider in Switzerland, the mission of Bitcoin Suisse is to bridge the world of crypto assets with traditional finance. Bitcoin Suisse strives to remain a key player in the industry with high quality and pioneering services.”

Earlier this year, Bitcoin Suisse reported revenues of roughly $44 million, net income of $25.4 million and total equity of $50.8 million in 2018.

The company placed $45.7 million (45 million CHF), soon to be extended to $55.9 million (55 million CHF), with a Swiss bank as collateral for a default bank guarantee, securing client fiat deposits and pooled crypto deposits.

This year, the company expanded its offering to 125 tradable crypto assets for a total of more than 6,000 trading pairs.

“Further, Bitcoin Suisse started providing large scale crypto asset collateralized lending/credit to private and institutional clients. In 2019, the number of banks and institutional clients served by Bitcoin Suisse with prime brokerage, anti-money laundering services and blockchain analysis has increased substantially.”

As a country, Switzerland is gaining on the United States in terms of crypto innovation. The Libra Association, the consortium heading Facebook’s controversial Libra project, is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland under the auspices of the Swiss financial regulator.

Additionally, San Francisco-based Ripple, a blockchain-based global settlements platform for cross-border transactions, recently registered a new entity in Switzerland.

Bitcoin Suisse is headquartered in Zug, home of Switzerland’s Crypto Valley, which ranked as the fastest-growing tech hub in Europe in 2018.

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