Bitcoin Forum

Is Switzerland a cryptocurrency heaven?
The Swiss have embraced innovation of digital money and cleared its path to cut into volatile central bank controlled fiat currency markets, while also reducing fees and improving security on the technology.Looks like a heaven for cryptocurrencies.

We can say that Switzerland is on the path towards the thing that we called cryptocurrency haven. There are some obstacles that Swtizerland needs to overcome and that is the wide and mass acceptance and adoption of cryptocurrency in the area. Even if the government allows its use but if people does not patronize it then it will not still prosper. Let us all remember that a currency becomes valuable because people have embraced it and supported it. The same thing with cryptocurrency it the majority of Switzerlands population will begin to start and use cryptocurrency then we can say that Switzerland is truly a haven for cryptocurrency.

I guess they can become one of the pioneer countries that adopt Bitcoin, yeah! :D It's a good thing that a country is openly accepting towards Bitcoin, and perhaps they can set the example for other countries to follow. :) I hope Bitcoin becomes mainstream one day and widely accepted globally, but I'm not so sure of the consequences (the good and bad).

It may allow a major hacking of Bitcoin wallets (online maybe) or an attack on exchange sites/cryptobank as criminal activity is moving towards technology nowadays. Still, this is the first step for world domination! ^_^

Switzerland is the first bitcoin haven that embraced bitcoin fully and on a rather big scale. when everyone were ignoring bitcoin they started adding bitcoin ATMs everywhere and their ticket kiosks are even selling bitcoin alongside train tickets :D

now there are more countries in the category which are embracing bitcoin and becoming a safe haven. like Japan for example.

I would rather look at the specifics. Do hotels in Switzerland accept bitcoin as payment? Do their stores, malls, markets, schools, restaurants, and so on accept bitcoin in their transactions? Because even if the government accepts bitcoin as a legal payment system, if there are so few establishments that accept bitcoin then that might not count as really a cryptocurrency haven.

Its good swiss bank famously knowing for holding the foreign funds very secure and giving private key access . Now they are entering crypto currency it should be good news . Hope all swiss bank fund will be converted to crypto  :P ;D

Nextdoor Germany for broadcast for the Kids

http://www.daserste.de/unterhaltung/krimi/tatort/videos/tatort-borowski-und-das-dunkle-netz-darknet-bitcoins-armin-maiwald-100.html?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3BxeP%2B8jXUQoul2CDEX0NhAw%3D%3D

It is still to early to say that swiss is a crypto currency heaven. Even if they have adopted it more then anyone they are not innovating that much to improve their economy tho you are right that in terms of security they are moving towards the fop

Public acceptance in Switzerland seems higher than elsewhere. While you still can't live from Bitcoin (paying for all commodities etc), you can buy a lot of stuff with it and the number of shops and services accepting cryptos keeps growing on a daily base.

The high tx-fees slowed acceptance of BTC specifically recently, but it looks like this is going to be less of a problem in the future and a lot of shops are starting to accept LTC too which doesn't suffer from these problems.

The Swiss government seems to think that Cryptos are going to be a good gap filler and tax creator in spite of the dwindling conventional banking business.
In short, Switzerlands probably wants to be a cryptocurrency haven and it makes some progress but IMHO is still far away from being it.

Well not everyone is ignoring BTC and other cryptos, as you said Japan is on the correct path and embracing bitcoin. And now there is also India which is also trying to legalize BTC, from what I know the verdict about this legalization is going to come on 12th July.

no they don't have all this regulation there, few store like many other country, they don't have massive usage at the moment, but switzerland is known for having very few restriction about money in general, so you are safe with big amount of money and bitcoin there

It is not there yet, but they are on their way. Switzerland has always been renowned for their suaveness with money.

Yes, Switzerland has already opens its door to crypto-currency. Its going to be a safe haven for a lot of investors. We all know that it has already established themselves as the top banking system in the world and it has a lot of clients. But with embracing crypto's, a lot of cash will be flowing to the bitcoin ecosystem again which is a good news for all of us.

This is wonderful stuff! No wonder it's one of the very few countries with high gdp and great quality of life.  Wonder what other government to hide. It seems the more the dictatorship the more likely they fear things like Cryptocurrencies.

Atms everywhere?
There are 19 damns ATMs in the entire country.
And while you are able to get btc from those kiosk you can't pay your train ticket with BTC

Honestly have you ever been to Switzerland?

Still better than the 2 ATMs in my country. And you have to take into account that Switzerland isn't too big either. Not quite the crypto haven yet but Switzerland certainly has the potential to get there in the future. Got me very excited for sure!

I'm close by and bought little from the SBB ticket ATMs. But you can only buy - not use them there..... but that's VERY FINE for me!

So it is fine with you that they are selling you the overpriced bitcoins but when you try to actually use them they say they don't want them?
When I realized that I said FY ( SBB) and your kiosk and your trains and your ~80 euros for a ticket from Basel to Zurich.

Swiss private bank Falcon:

http://www.finews.ch/news/banken/28131-falcon-bitcoin-bitcoin-suisse-nikolajsen-krypto

Till this point we can only say atleast switzerland have acknowledged the potential of bitcoin but to get wider adoption more merchants have to start accepting bitcoin as payment method.

I will be happy to live in a country where I can buy even a packet of milk for my coffee every morning from near by shop with bitcoin.

Switzerland is one of best country for digital currency users and they have roll model system for many other countries but its very hard for developing countries to follow this because we have many difficulties few of my friends are there and they are also using ATM for buying bitcoins we have no ATM and even no official trader for this I have dream to be use this  ;)

I also like Switzerland and their government policy, which is friendly towards cryptocurrency or digital ecosystem in overall. They don't afraid of changes and they would like to remain up to date with all latest technology.

Wow - next hammer...

I'm getting bored somehow posting all that heavy stuff

 ;D

https://www.wallstreet-online.de/nachricht/9743236-bitstamp-and-swissquote-pioneer-bitcoin-integration-with-the-traditional-financial-system

Cryptocurrency electronic money is also made up of Bitcoin. Switzerland has created an environment of monetary cryptocurrency. This is a developing country and also paving the expansion Bitcoin, Bitcoin value increased rapidly. Banks in this country accepts payment in Bitcoin.

I once read somewhere that Switzerland will become the Silicon Value for Bitcoin. A Crypto currency hub of innovation and creativity.  90% of

Swiss adult population use a smartphone and 80% a portable laptop and on average, Swiss people spend 8.8 hours per day on digital devices, 1.9

hours on the smartphone. I just hope that they can respect people's privacy and promote pseudo-anonymity and not crush it with KYC/AML style

regulations.  ::)

I also have heard that bitcoin is a digital currency and digital system is very worthy in Switzerland all the crypto currencies are acceptable and considered very equal to the fiat currency so I think bitcoin will also become very commend among them very soon as the price and value of bitcoin is increasing with time not only in Switzerland but in new York, china, and Japan bitcoin has become very famous.

Hey everyone, check out X8 Project which is closely connected with Swiss infrastructure and focuses on stability.

https://x8currency.com/

Switzerland is part of EU. EU is a bunch of naive men and women who think they can control the people.

So to answer your question, no switzerland is not a safe haven for crypto. I think you should look towards australia. They have an understanding about how things work, and they only control what makes sense to control.

No, Switzerland is not part of EU. Switzerland and EU only have the so called "bilateral agreements". These (recent, 2005) agreements are about many things (security, asylum, environment), but Swiss is absolutely not part of EU. In fact, swiss people are mainly against being part of EU. They want to remain independent and autonomous.

At the moment, Switzerland is doing many things towards the digital economy, like building huge server vaults under the mountains to keep google servers safe in case of a catastrophe. I heard some swiss banks are now moving towards cryptocurrencies. I'm almost sure some private banks specialized in crypto already exist there but I don't know much about that.
To me, it is very obvious Switzerland will be one of the first countries accepting cryptocurrencies at large scale. They lost too much with the recent banks scandals, they have to move on and moving to crypto is certainly where they could shine.

Disclaimer : I own both swiss and french nationalities and living on the border :)

With such a statement you are definitely not going to make friends in Switzerland  ;D The situation is as the above poster mentioned  :-*

As a Swiss citizen I would say that the general environment in Switzerland is beneficial for cryptocurrencies. But I wouldn't say yet that Switzerland is a cryptocurrency heaven (e.g. compared with Japan).

But it's true in most train stations you are able to buy bitcoin (but not able to sell it). To be honest that sounds actually better than it really is. Conditions are bad compared with an online market place. Last time I checked there were fees that are significantly higher like e.g. on Kraken. You can't buy a train ticket with it.

Also the online stock broker Swissquote added Bitcoin support. However, you can only trade it against fiat currencies (only USD or EUR). There is no "wallet function" which means that cryptocurrencies can't be transferred out and you can't buy goods from such purchases. However they plan to add some other crypto's.

The Falcon private bank is way more interesting because it is opening the door for high net worth individuals to invest in cryptos.

There is also the city of Zug with it's adminstration accepting BTC as payment. But this is only until the equivalent of 200 CHF. Anyway a good start and for sure a markting coup.

All in all not really much flesh on the bone yet...

Judging by their good banking system I think they will be good with cryptocurrencies if they establish a lot of international cryptocurrency exchanges over there to serve overseas clients etc.

wow a lot of misconceptions here...here are my crypto learnings from last 12 months

- 2017 was definitely a year of crypto here in Switzerland

- So called Crypto Valley brings a number of [Suspicious link removed]panies together, to include software developers, marketing, investors, legal firms. It's an awesome starting place to meet the local crypto community, lots of events and friendly people willing to share and collaborate.

- Although the legal system and regulator is recognising cryptocurrencies which is already a big step, it's still far from being a crypto heaven, it's difficult to open a bank account if you deal with crypto.

- The adoption of crypto in Switzerland is very low, I rarely see places accepting crypto

- Legal work for ICOs, particularly for security tokens is expensive and takes too long, the foundations that were launched are borderline legal

- There is a huge drive for digitalisation of the economy, particularly around fintech, transparency to banking means end to a lot of businesses and Switzerland is using this as an opportunity to build a sustainable economy, also around crypto. It's really happening, but not so fast as some of the users here imagine.

There is more for sure, but these were my main observations.

Greetings from Zurich!

Yes, Switzerland does legalize Cryptocurrency. And many ICO projects are born and centered there. This proves that there is no loss of a country legalizing Cryptocurrency. From Switzerland, should a country that forbid Cryptocurrency learn to examine and understand in advance what they consider illegal.

I believe so.
Having your government to accept crytocurrency in your country is a great thing.
Hopefully this will serve as a model to be followed up by other country as well.
And if everything goes well withSwitzerland then i guess it will surely happen.

While the policies are really heaven like, the country still not updated and most of day-to-day stores and business still don't accept BTC like every other country.

So no.

Response of Switzerland towards crypto-currencies are really appreciating. Even Big Four accounting firm EY Switzerland office was planning to accept BTC as a payment to their services, Not only this they will also install BTC ATM outside their office. Even Switzerland Govt. is also very supportive towards BITCOIN or other crypto-currency usage.

I always like Switzerland and their official rules. Which is very friendly to the establishment or implementation of cryptocurrency. They are not afraid, but they like to keep pace with the technology.

Switzerland is a magnificent and progressive country! This news confirms this once again. But unfortunately after that I did not hear anything. What changed in a year? Is it possible to pay bitcoin? ???

What do you mean? Switzerland is a very progressive country and it develops a lot. And the crypto-currency industry is also developing.

Switzerland – the Country Which Has Become Cryptocurrency Paradise

https://a.radikal.ru/a01/1809/e7/96e92d1afc8f.jpg (https://radikal.ru)

Switzerland is on the first place out of ten most crypto-friendly countries in the world. Positive treatment of cryptocurrencies, welcoming taxation environment and government’s support have made the country a desirable place for technological development and a paradise for crypto enthusiasts.

Switzerland, Crypto Sector and European Union
What are cryptocurrencies? “Private money” in Germany, “utility and security tokens” in France and “transferable value” in Denmark. In Switzerland, however, cryptocurrencies are defined as assets, therefore, they don’t fall under strict regulations.

Moreover, since August 1, 2017, the country has introduced new simplified policies regarding fintech business management to make the sector more accessible for blockchain companies and startups.

For instance, several amendments have been added, such as the amendment to the Banking Ordinance (BankO). According to it, accepting public funds up to CHF 1 million, firms could apply business models without authorisation.

The simplifications of the rules were suggested with the purpose to enhance the competitiveness of the Swiss financial area.

How Does Switzerland Support ICOs?
Talking about ICOs, according to the PwC report, in the first 5 months of this year, 537 ICOs have been successfully conducted. The amount of capital raised is USD 13.7 billion, which is more than all ICOs launched before 2018 combined have raised. Switzerland has played one of the main roles in the process, remaining a key global ICO hub.

For support of initial coin offerings and Blockchain in general, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has released guidelines for regulating ICOs. They are mostly treated as securities with some exceptions for utility tokens and means of payment.

What Has Crypto Community Already Done in 2018?
Switzerland is an outstanding country in a way how it applies DLT in various industries apart from finances and shows the innovative practical use cases.

First municipal voting with Blockchain
On July 1, the Swiss Crypto Valley has successfully completed the testing of the DLT-based voting system. For the purpose, Zug’s electronic ID system was used, and utilizing DLT, the process was completed without the single server. According to the results, most of the partakers found the system easy and convenient.

University diplomas secured by blockchain
The innovative system was introduced by the University of Basel. By registering certificates on ETH smart contracts, the information will be easily verified and protected from fraud.

Crypto events
As the country has the active crypto community and many developing crypto businesses, it hosts many blockchain conferences, events and shows. The purpose of conducting such meetings is to pay attention to DLT, study and analyse its applications and possibilities. One of the upcoming large crypto events is the Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Switzerland.

Cargo handling with DLT
Swissport, the provider of aviation services, together with Olam have launched a program for goods transportation. Integrating DLT in the industry, companies are planning to speed up the transactions, improve security and reduce operational costs by eliminating the paperwork.

First Blockchain-based smartphone
The smartphone developer Sirin Labs plans to release a DLT-based mobile phone in November 2018.

The company has already raised $157.8 million for this purpose via ICO. The innovative smartphone called Finney will cost around $1,000 and will combine a crypto wallet, TCS, and DApps store.

Leading other industries
Switzerland is not only a pioneer in many DLT uses but also a leading developer of the technology in other spheres. The country has corporations implementing Blockchain in data storage, supply chains, right protection and insurance sector.

Switzerland Inspiring Other Countries
Switzerland shows a lot of practical uses of Blockchain and innovative technological solutions, encouraging other countries to follow its steps.

South Korea, for example, is going to create a ‘Crypto Beach’ similar to Swiss ‘Crypto Valley’.

The Korea ICT Financial Convergence Association has announced the construction of the Blockchain center at the Haeundae beachfront in Busan.

Doing this, the company’s chairman plans to raise the government’s understanding of DLT and eliminate the current ban on ICOs.

It is not a surprise that Switzerland is considered a crypto paradise, and all the facts confirm its status of the advanced country regarding cryptocurrencies, blockchain and ICOs.


Source:   © Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Switzerland https://switzerland.bc.events/en/article/switzerland-the-country-which-has-become-cryptocurrency-paradise-91653 (https://switzerland.bc.events/en/article/switzerland-the-country-which-has-become-cryptocurrency-paradise-91653)

Because the Swiss government is very supportive of the development of cryptocurrencies and blockchains! Their financial sector has always liked to innovate!
Some good policies have attracted blockchain and technology companies to invest in Switzerland, and more and more blockchain companies will invest and develop in Switzerland!

Too many ICO scams

https://youtu.be/LScsLf1O2io

Nice comment, thanks for this. You found some nice info about cryptocurrencies in Switzerland and for some I didn`t know. In my time here I think Switzerland, as small but strong country, is silent about cryptocurrencies. There are no big news from there, they embraced cryptocurrencies like they are a normal thing, probably they will be one of the top cryptocurrencies countries. They recognize the potential of the crypto technologies and they are
going forward with that. We will see more from them very soon!

Swiss is so wealthy because it has been adapting all kinds of finacial instruments and with that they also are allowing shady people to store their value there as dicators and so on.
But regarding cryptos it certantly is welcoming but other countries are also like Belarus,Baltic States,especially Estonia.

I think that for different people there is a different definition of cryptocurrency paradise. But I think that Switzerland can become it. Switzerland is one of the leaders in the financial sphere. Besides, already now many organizations working with cryptocurrency have an office in Switzerland.

On daily basis crypto will get accepted in every country, this is my dream. India is a country in South Asia, if I am not wrong, they banned bitcoin, and again they open the door for the bitcoin, At this moment, India is trying to pull bitcoin under regulations. So, I think europe/switzerland and other countries in south Asia will accept bitcoin soon enough.

There are other players which are also trying to become a cryptocurrency hub.
From the top of my head - Malta, Estonia, Latvia.

Switzerland is so rich because of their financial services , so it is not a big surpise that they are also trying to get in crypto game.
It is hard to tell which country is th ebest, only serious professionals which have been involved in different projects at management level can answer this question.

Yes switzerland is a cryptocurrency heaven because of its wide adoption and usage credibility of its government of digital money . Since as we all know swiss bank has billions and billions of black money from all around the world . So to increase it's capacity and also the security of any paper leaks cryptocurrencies can help in maintaining them .

First off, the initiative to a bitcoin-like financial system in Switzerland was voted down. It did not push through although it was able to gain 500,000 votes in totality.  It could have been really a breath taking moment for cryptocurrency world if this initiative pushed through.

Yet, i could never discount the possibility of Switzerland being the haven of cryptocurrency as they have the Crypto Valley located in the city of Zug accepting bitcoin as payment for certain municipality services. Here we see how their government is open towards embracing bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

Yes, there's a lot of nation who is more friendly. And @bitcoindusts, it looks like they shoot down the bitcoin like financial systems. So I'm expecting a tougher regulations to be introduced by them.


For capital markets, Switzerland is still a haven but Its a still a along way to go and its a different story as far as crypto is concern. I do hope that they progress the used of blockchain technology though. Specially the so called blockchain-voting system,

(http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/crypto-valley-_-switzerland-s-first-municipal-blockchain-vote-hailed-a-success/44230928)

Never been in Switzerland but I lot has change specially the number of ATM across the country:

(https://coinatmradar.com/country/206/bitcoin-atm-switzerland/)

The Swiss federal government is currently considering several options, risks, and opportunities to launch the state's cryptocurrency with its blockchain "e-franc". Swiss lawmaker and Vice President of the Swiss Social Democratic Party, Cédric Wermuth, with the support of the 7-member Federal Council, has proposed that the government assess the possibility of owning the country's original digital currency.

Switzerland proves that there is no loss of a nation's legitimate electronic money. I believe so too. Hopefully this will serve as a model to be followed by other nations as well. However, while the real policy is paradise, the country has not been updated and most shops and businesses still do not accept the BTC as every other country.

I think that the cryptocurrency does not limit the possibilities of countries, but rather strengthens them, so this movement can help Switzerland

Big things are happening in Switzerland

https://memo.cash/post/cb810d8026d7ea82909391bf4fa6ad4f2342b8ea9f07ec1ac80fc5cca08a0270

Malta is the best choice in my opinion, not too difficult to get a residency card there, as long as you get some savings. Estonia is very friendly towards Bitcoin but two issues: climate (much less friendly that Malta) and the language (in Malta 90% of residents are foreigners on the main island so the language most used is English).
That's why Malta ticks all the boxes for me, even though it's a small place that tends to get boring after a while.

according to news and online blogs, Switzerland is very friendly toward Blockchain and Crypto, so, after Japan, I will consider Switzerland as Crypto Heaven.

Can you pay a bitcoin? Switzerland is a very progressive country and it grows a lot. Because the Swiss government is very supportive of developing electronic money and stopping it!A number of good policies have attracted blockchain companies and investment technology into Switzerland, and more and more blockchain companies will invest and grow in Switzerland! But I think Switzerland can become it. In addition, many organizations now work with electronic money with offices in Switzerland.

Indeed Switzerland is like a heaven for crypto enthusiast, i think is mostly because the people of Switzerland is very acceptable with change and can willingly accept the technology of like cryptocurrency.

I think that for different people, there is another definition of electronic money heaven. Switzerland is one of the leaders in the financial sector. On the basis of the daily cryptocurrency will be accepted in every country, this is my dream. At this time, India is trying to pull bitcoin as prescribed. There are other players who are also trying to become an electronic money hub. Swiss are very wealthy because of their financial services, so it's not a big surprise that they are also trying to get in the crypto game. The Swiss Federal Government is currently considering some of the options, risks, and opportunities to launch the state e-currency with its "e-franc" blockchain. Switzerland proves that there is no legitimate electronic money loss of a country. Hopefully this will serve as a model to be followed by other countries as well.

The people of Swit8have shown themselves to be first and foremost a business minded people and they always welcome ways and means that promises to bing money to them and the country. If they have accepted cryptos then it shows that they know it's great potential.

When bitcoin was introduced, everyone were in against of bitcoin and no one wants bitcoin to get legalised anywhere but then with passage of time, people slowly understood the potential of bitcoin and then started investing into bitcoin and approximately there are millions of people around the world who are investing into bitcoin and then now there are few countries who has also legalised bitcoin in their nation and this is very happy to see that Switzerland 🇨🇭 is one of them.

Switzerland’s fast-growing cryptocurrency industry could have full access to conventional banking services by the end of the year, removing one of the restrictions to future growth Yet this nation, as closely tied to its ultrasafe Swiss franc as it is to the Alps, is entranced by volatile digital currencies. Buildings in Zug and in Zurich, Switzerland’s financial center, are blossoming into crypto-finance hubs.
Four of the 10 biggest initial coin offerings last year were in Switzerland, according to PwC, more than any other country. May be Switzerland make a world a cryptocurrency