Tyr Capital Partners, a crypto hedge fund based in Switzerland, is facing accusations of mismanagement from an investor, according to a Financial Times report. Swiss prosecutors have initiated a search of the firm following allegations that started in August 2023 that Tyr Capital disregarded early warnings regarding the collapse of the FTX exchange. Tyr Capital...Read More
The world’s original and most deeply capitalized cryptocurrency has grown up fast. Bitcoin recently made it to the top 15 largest currencies in the world in December, according to Bitcoin credit card company Bold. It is the only crypto among sovereign central bank currencies comprising the top 20 currencies in the world. #Bitcoin is the...Read More
On December 5, 2023, Lugano, a Swiss City, announced the incorporation of the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) for tax and other municipal fee payments. This makes part of Lugano’s collaborative plans with Tether, Plan B, fashioned to revitalize the City’s financial system using Bitcoin tech. Lugano Dives into the World of Crypto Before...Read More
The Switzerland-based financial institution that focuses on cryptocurrencies – SEBA Bank – has reportedly secured an approval-in-principle from Hong Kong’s securities regulator. The company now needs to comply with additional conditions for final approval before being eligible to provide digital asset services to local consumers. One Step Away From Offering Crypto Services Based on a...Read More
During the Point Zero Forum banking conference held in Zurich yesterday, the upcoming launch of a Swiss CHF-based CBDC was announced by Thomas Jordan, the chairman of the Swiss Nation Bank (SNB). Although no exact date has been put forth by the bank, the chairman of the SNB announced that the CBDC would be released...Read More
The Prime Minister of Liechtenstein – Daniel Risch – said the local lawmakers plan to enable bitcoin payments for various government services. However, he did not disclose whether the country will adopt the primary cryptocurrency as a legal tender. Another country that has turned its focus toward BTC is Liechtenstein’s western neighbor – Switzerland –...Read More
FTX Europe – the European subsidiary of the now-collapsed global crypto giant – has filed a petition for a Swiss moratorium proceeding, which was granted by a court on April 11th. Meanwhile, the CySEC also announced extending FTX Europe’s license suspension until September-end. FTX Europe Moratorium According to the official press release, the proceeding is...Read More
While crypto companies in the United States are fleeing to more favorable jurisdictions, traditional financial institutions elsewhere are increasingly tapping the digital asset space. In the latest development, Swiss government-owned retail bank PostFinance partnered with Sygnum to offer its customers a range of regulated digital asset banking services. Sygnum is a Zurich-based regulated digital asset...Read More
Switzerland’s largest banking institution – UBS Group – entered into a merger deal with its troubled rival – Credit Suisse. The former will pay $3.25 billion to finalize the deal, which is 60% less than what Credit Suisse was worth at the end of last week. Bitcoin reacted positively to the news, surpassing $28,500 for...Read More
The Switzerland-based crypto ETP issuer – 21Shares – will reportedly terminate five of its funds and delist another one due to low interest from investors. Arielle Pennington – Head of Global Communications – claimed the firm will keep offering its other products that enjoy a solid level of demand. Scraping Some ETPs As revealed by Bloomberg,...Read More
With the largest crypto-supportive banks in the U.S. crumbling at the seams, industry firms appear to be retreating to Switzerland for a financial lifeline. Crypto-focused banks in the region are reporting higher traffic after Silvergate, Signature Bank, and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) all effectively failed over the past two weeks. Where to Crypto Firms Go?...Read More
It’s been one year since the Swiss city of Lugano established Bitcoin and Tether (USDT) as de facto legal tender within its borders. Since then, how has its adoption initiative fared?On Monday, Tether published a breakdown of various milestones the city has reached around crypto infrastructure and education under “Plan B.” According to Tether’s post,...Read More
Milena Mayorga – ambassador of El Salvador to the United States – said the Salvadoran authorities might open a bitcoin embassy in Texas. The central American nation has already introduced a BTC office in the city of Lugano, Switzerland. The Second BTC Embassy Mayorga held a meeting with Jose “Joe” Esparza (Texas Deputy Secretary of...Read More
Taurus SA – a Swiss entity that provides an infrastructure to issue, custody, and trade cryptocurrencies – raised $65 million to improve its platform and expand internationally. Major monetary institutions, including Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and Arab Bank Switzerland, led the financing. Facing Towards Other Continents Taurus disclosed it will use the funds from the Series B...Read More
The Switzerland-based fintech company – 21Shares AG – unveiled a Bitcoin exchange-traded product on Nasdaq Dubai, making it the first physically-backed BTC ETP in the Middle East. The firm has recently been on a listing spree, introducing Bitcoin and Ethereum ETNs on Nasdaq Stockholm, crypto ETPs on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam, and more. The Latest...Read More
The digital asset exchange aggregator – Coincub – conducted a study to find out which countries offer the friendliest cryptocurrency tax policies to their citizens. Germany ranked as the world’s crypto tax heaven, while Italy and Switzerland were respectively second and third. Taking a look at the opposite corner, Belgium is the worst nation for...Read More
Swiss-based digital asset bank Sygnum has added Cardano (ADA) to its bank-grade staking services for institutional clients. The bank’s customers can now earn rewards for staking ADA, the eighth largest cryptocurrency by market cap. According to a press release, Cardano has joined the list of other cryptocurrencies supported on Sygnum’s staking offerings, which currently consist...Read More
With a score of 8.6 points out of 10, the special administrative region of China – Hong Kong – was crowned as the most crypto-ready country globally. The second position belongs to the previous leader – the United States of America, while Switzerland is third. Changes at the Top The latest worldwide crypto readiness report...Read More
Due to prevailing market conditions, SIX Swiss Exchange has postponed the launch of its crypto services arm, SIX Digital Exchange (SDX). Of note, the stock exchange is Switzerland’s main and the 3rd largest of its kind in Europe. In September last year, the nation’s regulator gave it the green light to launch crypto-related services exclusively to...Read More
Julius Baer Group – the Swiss private bank with over $110 billion in AUM as of 2021 – revealed that it will offer digital asset services to high-ended clients. A pilot program has been currently installed to test token booking, trading, and compliance. The group will integrate cryptocurrencies into its wealth management services by first...Read More
Fidelity Exchange Traded Products GmbH has listed two new Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) in the US dollar and Swiss franc on the Swiss stock exchange, SIX. Fidelity Lists Two Bitcoin ETPs on SIX With the new listing, investors using SIX now have access to 133 crypto ETPs and a total of 208 products based on...Read More
Institutional cryptocurrency exchange LMAX has announced a partnership with Swiss financial services group SIX to launch cash-settled, centrally cleared crypto-asset futures. With the increasing institutional adoption of crypto trading, LMAX Group CEO David Mercer reveals that the company will complete its offering by adding digital asset futures to its portfolio through the latest partnership. LMAX-SIX’s...Read More
Sygnum Singapore – a subsidiary of Switzerland’s Sygnum Bank – received in-principle approval from the country’s top financial regulator to conduct three additional activities. These include providing corporate finance advisory services, dealing in capital market products, and offering custodial services. Sygnum to Enable More Opportunities Upon obtaining full approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore,...Read More
The typically neutral country has joined the EU and the US in imposing financial sanctions against Russians following the war started by President Putin. Moreover, the nation’s authorities have also gone after their cryptocurrency holdings within Switzerland’s borders. Ever since Putin launched its “special military operation” against Ukraine, which turned out to be an all-out...Read More
Lugano, a city in southern Switzerland, has introduced Bitcoin and Tether in addition to its own LVGA Points token as legal tender. The initiative was backed by the collaboration between Tether Operations Limited, the tech company behind the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, USDT. Tether and the City of Lugano plan to work toward the...Read More
Recently leaked documents showed that the giant private bank Credit Suisse had held hundreds of billions of dollars of clients alleged or involved in drug trafficking, corruption, torture, money laundering, and other serious crimes. This comes years after the bank bashed the cryptocurrency industry, claiming that bitcoin presents money laundering challenges. The Leaked Documents A...Read More
21Shares AG – a Switzerland-based investment product issuer – announced the listing of three new cryptocurrency exchange-traded products on the BX Swiss. Aave, Chainlink, and Uniswap are respectively the underlying assets of the ETPs. Additionally, the global investment manager – VanEck – introduced its first multi-token cryptocurrency fund. Diving Deeper into ETPs According to a...Read More
The Swiss National Bank (SNB), together with five other banking giants, have reportedly tested whether they can process central bank digital currencies within the nation’s financial network. The institutions revealed they were able to integrate CBDCs into their existing core banking systems. The Latest CBDC Trial in Switzerland A January 13 coverage by Bloomberg disclosed...Read More
Sygnum Bank – a company that runs a digital asset bank and trading platform – reportedly finalized a $90 million funding round. Following the initiative, the firm reached a valuation of $800 million. Syngum’s First Crypto Steps in 2022 According to a January 6 report by Bloomberg, the fundraise was led by Sun Hung Kai...Read More
Deutsche Börse – a German stock market operator – completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Crypto Finance AG – a leading Swiss firm focused on digital asset services. The deal was initially signed in June but got officially closed on December 15. Deutsche Börse and Crypto Finance Signed the Agreement Deutsche Börse announced...Read More
