The Swiss Government is Paving the Way for Crypto Banks
Swiss Parliament member Franz Grüter could hardly be happier that his proposal for new blockchain regulations has been shot down. For months, he resisted the government's requests to kill his motion, which would have changed the definition of a bank to make it easier for cryptocurrency companies to open in Switzerland. "We got this," was the gist of what they told him. "Thanks, but no thanks." But Grüter, who was elected to represent the Lucerne region of Switzerland a year ago, remained skeptical. "The reason I was frustrated was that I didn't believe how....
Related News
Despite its volatility, Bitcoin has been the best performing currency in the world for 5 of the past 6 years. The rapidly increasing value of the digital currency and its decentralized nature have led it to be considered as the global safe asset for investors and traders. For decades, Swiss bank accounts were the ideal global asset for most entrepreneurs and investors, due to its anonymity and privacy. Prior to the formation of a contract between the EU and Switzerland, anyone could open Swiss bank accounts, store funds and be free of all tax obligations. The end of the Swiss banks era.....
Swiss banks have decided to turn down U.S citizens who want to open up offshore bank accounts in Switzerland. This is due to the U.S’s new foreign account regulations for banks to disclose the information of american accounts. This could be an opportunity for Americans to switch over to Bitcoin. Privacy concerns. According to Bloomberg, the U.S ambassador in Switzerland has sent numerous letters to Swiss bank executives on the challenges Americans already have when opening a bank account in an attempt to get Swiss banks to rethink their decision of not accepting American clients. Suzan....
The Swiss National Bank has successfully employed a wholesale CBDC to settle transactions with five commercial banks, the monetary authority announced. The tests are part of an experiment carried out together with the Bank for International Settlements and Switzerland’s financial services provider SIX.
Swiss Central Bank Tests Integration of Wholesale CBDC Settlement With Private Banks
A wide-range of transactions involving a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) have been processed during the second phase of Project Helvetia, the Swiss National Bank (SNB)....
SIX will join Swisscom and Sygnum in a new venture aimed to enable Swiss banks to offer digital assets to their customers.
Although the draft for these new regulations has yet to be created, the government is hopeful they can shake up the Swiss banking sector. Regulation is always a double-edged blade. On the one hand, guidelines can help legalize new currencies and financial tools. At the same time, these rules can nip innovation in the bud at a very early stage. Switzerland wants to ease up on fintech regulation, which is excellent news for Bitcoin activity in the country. New rules have been proposed by the Swiss government to encourage fintech startups in the country. By easing these regulatory guidelines,....