The transaction volume of digital assets reached tens of billions of francs in 2021 in Switzerland, according to a report presented on the sidelines of the WEF. A blockchain initiative was launched on Tuesday in Davos (GR) that Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer will defend.
This first study on the digital asset market in Switzerland covers more than half of the companies in the sector that responded to a survey. These 47 entities had more than 13 billion francs under direct management at the end of last year. In total, their trading volume reached about 41.2 billion.
These companies employed more than 1,200 full-time equivalent people in direct asset management. More than 3900 others worked indirectly or in mandates related to this activity.
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the new initiative “Home of Blockchain. swiss” was launched to defend the sector on the international scene. The blockchain, a decentralized data storage system, is used in particular as a technical instrument for cryptocurrencies.
Appeal launched by Maurer
Among the objectives of the new initiative is to try to attract foreign companies to establish themselves in Switzerland, explained one of the officials. More broadly, this entity will have to work to bring together traditional finance and digital players in the same institutional framework adding the president of Home of Blockchain.swiss, Alexander Brunner.
We need a “team” approach between the authorities and the private sector, said Mr. Maurer. He was pleased that Switzerland had approved one of the world's first regulations on this issue. And it works, he says.
The competition will be intense in the coming years, but it will advance the entire branch in the world, adds the head of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF). Blockchain is “an important tool” for adapting finance to today's society, he says.
