Capital finds its way securely into the crypto world

The founders of the Swiss Crypto Exchange (SCX) want to convince even the most critical investors to invest in crypto stocks. With its new system, the certified transfer of traditional money into cryptocurrency investments takes place via Swiss banks; the encrypted data is stored in Switzerland; there is a physical address; and it of course offers Swiss quality and Swiss security. SCX, led by CEO Cyrill Tröndle, is all about trust, something that the Zurich location and team stand for

“Zurich is a perfect place to start and grow,” says Tröndle. “It’s where we come into contact with everyone of importance to us: banks, investors, crypto-asset providers and talented professionals too.”

The SCX board of directors is chaired by Christian Katz, former head of the SIX Swiss Exchange. The 14-person Zurich team includes experienced financial experts as well as trading and ICT professionals.

Crypto account at a Swiss bank

SCX began trading in June 2018, and the next stage – integrating the solution into the systems of Swiss banks – is set to be launched at the end of the year. This will make it possible to hold crypto assets through a bank’s custody department, which is responsible for the central safekeeping and administration of assets.

“If a family office, for example, wants to invest in bitcoins, it has to exchange francs and send them to one of the commercial crypto marketplaces,” says Tröndle. However, many investors shy away from this because risk assessments are often difficult to carry out.

SCX, in contrast, plans to offer direct access to the digital assets: all participants trading there will have an account at a Swiss bank, and the exchange from fiat money into cryptocurrencies will also take place within their systems. The platform itself does not hold any assets and merely acts as an intermediary between buyer and seller.

The investor holds the bitcoins with the Swiss bank of its choice. According to Tröndle, investors need not fear any losses from a potential hacker attack on SCX: “Nothing can disappear because we only have anonymous reference values.”

Catalyst for the location 

Tröndle is convinced that secure and independent infrastructures such as SCX are driving the development of new cryptoproducts while also ensuring maximum transparency. SCX regards itself as a catalyst here.

“Our exchange platform makes Switzerland even more exciting for investors and brings more risk capital into the Zurich economic area – especially for talented blockchain start-ups,” says Tröndle.

Using Switzerland as a reference system, SCX plans to expand to other countries and continents in the near future.