Welcome to WELCOME TO ONE OF THE WORLD S LEADING BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEMS

Transcription

1 Welcome to WELCOME TO ONE OF THE WORLD S LEADING BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEMS

2 Why Switzerland? Best Package Advanced Regulation Funding & ICO Hub Favourable Tax System Strong Community & Ecosystem Deep Talent Pool 2

3 Why Switzerland? Deep-seated culture of privacy protection, confidentiality and legal certainty Low taxes and friendly regulation environment Friendly, accessible, supportive government Supportive startup ecosystem with worldclass service providers Number 1 in the world for competitiveness and productivity* «Switzerland s decentralized, bottom-up political culture is a natural fit for the decentralized, bottom-up blockchain technologies of the future.» 3 *WEF Global Competitiveness Report

4 Why Switzerland? Sophisticated infrastructure and educational worldleading and research institutions Visionary entrepreneurs and cryptographic technology pioneers Deep pools of capital and world-class engineering talent Switzerland is in the center of Europe with excellent air, rail and road connections Vibrant community and fantastic quality of life «World-leading infrastructure in telecom, financial services, education, technological innovation.» 4

5 Advanced Regulation Over four decades perfectly working self regulating system in the financial sector In general, regulator and authorities are positive (e.g. new FinTech rules, acceptance of Bitcoins, ID based on Blockchain) The Swiss liberal approach: Not every Convertible Crypto Token (CC) can be misused for Money Laundering and should be subject to regulation (see FATF VC 2015, 13) Regulate the necessary: Intermediary transactions (third party transactions) are in the focus (i.e. Money Exchange and Money Transmitting) «Today, Switzerland is leading the establishment of a regulatory environment for a digital economy.»* 5 * BitcoinExchangeGuide.com

6 Advanced Regulation New Swiss FinTech rules Switzerland adopts revised banking regulations in order to facilitate the business activities of FinTech companies. Settlement account exemption: Companies are allowed to hold funds in a settlement account for 60 days without the operation of such account being deemed an acceptance of public funds subject to licensing by FINMA. Innovation space ( sandbox ): Companies are allowed to hold public deposits of up to CHF 1 million without having to obtain a banking license by FINMA. This fact must be disclosed, however. The current money laundering provisions are applicable in the case of a sandbox. This new innovation space will enable FinTech companies to try out experimental new business models without immediately having to obtain a banking license. New Fintech License granted by FINMA: For institutions which are restricted to the deposit-taking business (acceptance of third party funds) and thus do not operate in the lending business, less stringent regulatory requirements should apply than those for classical banks. Requirements: The funds under management may not exceed the overall value of CHF 100 million. For institutions with the new license, the minimum capital should amount to 5% of the accepted funds, but no less than CHF 300,000. Acceptance of Cryptocurrencies Swiss private bank Falcon has become the first mainstream wealth manager in the country to allow clients to invest bitcoins in their portfolios. The Zurichbased bank has been given the green light to accept the cryptocurrency by the Swiss financial regulator. 6

7 Funding & ICO Hub Straightforward access to funding Historical strength in financial services Well established financial center with global network Favorable regulatory environment for financial services Accessibility of venture capital financing Business incubators «World leading hub in coinand token launches» 7

8 Regulatory Clarity unclear clear Crypto Valley: World leading hub for ICOs Regulatory clarity & high volume ICOs lead to unique competence Singapore UK Crypto Valley USA as of July large scale ICOs done 40+ ICO in process 170+ ICO in pipeline Selected Examples: Tezos ($232m) Bancor ($157m) Ethereum ($18m) low high Volume of Token Generating Events (ICOs) as of July Based on Autonomous Research LLP, 2017 «Crypto Valley, the place to be for your ICOs» 8

9 Favorable Tax System No VAT on Bitcoin transactions Competitive effective corporate tax rates e.g. Schwyz: 15.27% Zug: 14.60% Zurich: 21.15% Competitive taxation for individuals No taxes on individual capital gains High number of double tax treaties No exit taxation «Cantonal tax competition promotes efficiency in the provision of state services and high-quality infrastructure.» 9

10 Strong Community & Ecosystem Excellent startup ecosystem Existing crypto technology clusters in Zurich and Zug Existing crypto community and startups (CVA, Bitcoin and FinTech Association, Ethereum etc.) Labs, Incubators, Accelerators Real life field tests (Bitcoin is a local government accepted currency «Supportive startup ecosystem with world-class service providers.» 10

11 11 Strong Community & Ecosystem

12 Talent Switzerland & Crypto Valley great in attracting local and abroad talent Leading universities and technology research (e.g. ETH) Swiss work systematically and accurately, they are innovative, they are selfstarters, and they are honest Great variety in cultures and languages «Number 1 in the world for ease of attracting and retaining world-class talent.»* 12 *INSEAD Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2017

13 Crypto Valley Association Thriving Ecosystem Offers events to engage with crypto pioneers, industry experts, investors etc. Supported by industry associations, financial institutions, local government etc. Providing affordable working spaces, professional service providers, pools of capital etc. «World s best ecosystem for blockchain and other cryptographic technologies and businesses.» 13

14 Greater Zurich Area International contact partner for promotion and marketing of Zurich economic region Service-oriented competency center with a clear focus on international companies that can offer high and especially sustainable value for the Zurich economic region «Greater Zurich Area acts as a mediator between international companies and entrepreneurs looking to settle in the area and local interests and requirements.» 14

15 Contact Information Crypto Valley Association: Greater Zurich Area: Crypto Valley Association Greater Zurich Area 15

16 16 Appendices

17 Crypto Valley Service Partners Lakeside Partners Lakeside Crypto Labs (in the Lakeside Business Center) Early Stage Investors with focus on the Blockchain industry Crypto Valley Co Working / Accelerator / Incubator MME PwC Legal, Incorporation, Foundations, ICO Advisory Swiss & international Tax-, Legal-, Regulatory Advisor Auditor for Crypto Funds & Financial Institutions Blockchain Software Auditor 17

18 Selected other specialized Partners Digital Finance Compliance Verein (DFC) Reamis TTSS Zolentis Proptech company for asset- and portfolio management Developer of AppFlow, a continuous deployment and provisioning solution Global advisory and investment company 18

19 Selected Crypto / Blockchain Companies 19 Addfin Bitcoin Suisse Bitfinitum Bithaus Blockchain Source BlockLogiX ConsenSys Crypto Cash Dfinity Web-based service solution for professional investors, ZG Financial services, consulting, bitcoin ATM-project, bitcoin certificates, ZG Blockchain platform for industry consolidation, ZG Bitcoin based, new payment processing and trading, microlending solutions for emerging markets, ZG Consulting company focusing on blockchain, ZG Consulting on crypto currencies and blockchain, ZG Developer for blockchain, focused on Ethereum, ZG Crypto currency services, KYC-support, ZH The Intelligent Decentralized Cloud

20 Selected Crypto / Blockchain Companies (cont d) Ethereum Etherlabs Gatechain Green Shield InCube Iprotus Lykke Metagrid Systems Monetas Blockchain, p2p contracts, cryptocurrency ether, ZG ZG Blockchain based solution for trade finance, ZH ZG Consulting and technology company, ZG Software development and integration for blockchain, ZG Bitcoin based global financial & asset marketplace, ZH Decentralized software & technologies, ZG Decentral network for money and wealth transaction, ZG 20

21 Selected Crypto / Blockchain Companies (cont d) Patria Digitalis Sapphire Shape Shift Singular DTV Swiss Mine Tezos WB21 Wealth Arc Xapo Open application service provider, ZG Cashflow forecasting, working capital optimization, ZG Instant cryptocurrency transaction platform, ZG Blockchain entertainment studio, rights management platform, ZG 360 digital currency services, ZH Self-amending cryptographic ledger Digital bank: real time account opening, cross border payments incl. Bitcoin, ZH Management Platform for Financial Advisors, ZH Most secure bitcoin wallet, data storage, ZG 21

22 Selected Crypto / Blockchain Companies (cont d) Etherisc Golem Project FoodBlockchain XYZ Melonport Validity Labs Gnosis Decentralized insurance applications, ZG Sharing economy of computing power, ZG ZG Blockchain software for asset management, ZG Workshops covering blockchain technology, ZG Platform for prediction market applications, ZG 22

23 Labs engaged in Blockchain Computational Social Science Research focus on social coordination, crime and conflict as well as collective opinion formation and the wisdom of crowds System Security Group Information Security and Cryptography Research Group, ETH Zurich Distributed Computing Networked Systems Validity Labs & Summer Blockchain (in collaboration with ETH) Research in the design and analysis of security protocols for wired and wireless networks and systems Research on information security, cryptography and information theory Current research on distributed computing, distributed systems (Bitcoin), wireline networks (software defined networks) Research projects using the design principles of softwaredesigned networkings (SDN) on mobile networks and internet routing Workshops covering blockchain technology for managers, software developers and lawyers 23

24 Selected Incubators / Accelerators Crypto Valley Labs, ZG F10 Incubator, ZH Fintech Fusion, GE Impact HUB, ZH NexusSquared, ZH Swiss Startup Factory, ZH Thomson Reuters Incubator, ZG Venturelab Venture Kick 24

25 Ethereum «The liberal regulatory system was decisive for settling our business in Zug.» Vitalik Buterin, Founder of Ethereum Ethereum is a Swiss non-profit organization and decentralized public blockchain-based distributed computing platform, featuring smart contract functionality. It provides a decentralized virtual machine, the Ethereum (EVM), that can execute peer-to-peer contracts using its own cryptocurrency called Ether. Ether is traded on cryptocurrency exchanges. Its very powerful shared global infrastructure allows to move all kinds of value around safely due to a communal global asset recording. Therefore applications run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference. The possibilities are vast and unexhausted, the handling easy, what makes Ethereum a powerful game changer. Ethereum was initially proposed in late 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, a cryptocurrency researcher, one of its kind programmer and incumbend CEO. The initiative was crowdfunded in 2014 by fans around the globe and officially launched in 2015 in Zug. Today Ethereum employs 30 developers from different parts fo the world of which 4 work in its headquater in Zug. Ethereum Foundation currently operates around $13 million whereas its market cap currently stands around $1 billion. 25

26 Monetas «One of Zug s attractions is the exceptional level of expertise available in the areas of cryptography and security.» Johann Gevers, Founder and CEO of Monetas Monetas is developing a decentralized, global platform for financial and legal transactions. A suite of applications and utilities form a complete digital ecosystem. Users never leave and withdraw physical cash, because it is cheaper to stay digital than to switch to physical cash. Its cutting-edge is a crypto-financial software technology that makes transfers of value incredibly safe, fast, and at very low cost - anywhere in the world, at any time. With this groundbreakting system the company strives to connect anyone with a smartphone to financial services. In 2016 Monetas is goint to open up its application in 12 African countries, providing its services to more than 300 million additional people. After founding Monetas in 2012 in Canada, Greves moved his startup in 2013 to the canton of Zug. Since then, he has been spearheading the Crypto Valley initiative, and has attracted numerous renowned cryptofinance companies to the area. To date Monetas has raised over 7m US$ and the company's value is estimated at 93m US$ (Jan 16). Today, 27 employees from all over the world are involved in the further development of Monetas transaction platform. Grevers is sure «With such a highly talented and passionate group of people we ll build Crypto Valley into a powerhouse of the global economy». 26

27 Xapo «In comparison with other potential locations, Switzerland provides all the benefits of a modern society including a highly educated population, a fiscally responsible government and a well-maintained physical and technological infrastructure.» XAPO LLC Xapo is a bitcoin service provider based in the Greater Zurich Area. It combines the convenience of an everyday bitcoin wallet (bitcoin debit card, easy fund management tool and real-time transactions) with the security of a deep cold storage vault. Xapo's data and customer bitcoins are stored in offline, secure, encrypted servers in one of the most secure data centers in the world and are never connected to the internet. Also, a satellite helps to continually monitor and validate system-wide security. Xapo was one of the very first to move into the region, in Soon after relocating its headquarters from Silicon Valley Xapo created a dedicated page to point out the top ten reasons why they felt FinTech startups should be moving to Switzerland. Not listed on the page is that digital currencies are treated as foreign currencies in Switzerland, what makes the tax environment for businesses very competitive. Xapo has raised more than $40 million from a group of global investment partners and employs over 11 people. 27