Switzerland offers fertile breeding ground for digital finance

The Swiss ecosystem for digital assets is growing. This is the conclusion reached by the latest Swiss Digital Asset Market Report, which was presented on May 24 during the World Economic Forum in Davos. According to the report, the Swiss ecosystem can already be valued at 13.2 billion Swiss francs in digital assets held under custody. Moreover, the trading volume reached a total of 41.2 billion Swiss francs in 2021.

According to the information in the report, there are more than 1,200 full-time employees (FTEs) working in the area of direct asset management at companies active in this industry. If people who are indirectly connected to activities in the field of digital assets are also counted, this figure rises to more than 3,900.

The study is based on a survey of 47 Swiss firms that deal with digital assets. In preparing the report, OST - Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences played a leading role.

According to a press release covering the report findings, Switzerland performs particularly well in terms of bridging the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi). It also furthermore claimed that this can be put down to the country’s “practical regulatory and legal frameworks and an openness to new innovative businesses”.

The establishment of the Ethereum Foundation in Zug is also highlighted. Overall, Crypto Valley - as the cluster of blockchain-focused companies in this region is known - has now grown far beyond the borders of Zug to become a leading hub for blockchain and digital assets. The canton of Zug, along with the cantons of Zurich, Ticino and Geneva, also played a role as partners in producing the latest report.

The Swiss Digital Asset Market Report was presented in Davos in parallel with the launch of Home of Blockchain.swiss. This initiative is the brainchild of the Swiss Blockchain Federation and is organized under the patronage of Ueli Maurer, a member of the Swiss Federal Council, the Swiss federal government. It is intended to help attract foreign blockchain companies to Switzerland. The initiative is also supported by the export promotion agency Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE), a group comprising several Swiss cantons and CV Labs.