Taking inspiration from nearby Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, the tiny European principality of Liechtenstein is making every effort to become a hotbed for crypto and blockchain innovation. Located between Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, Liechtenstein is known for its business-friendly legal framework, unique foundation law and low taxation. In the last decades, Liechtenstein has developed a very professional financial industry and is currently home to more than 700 licensed investment funds and 100 licensed asset management companies. The assets under management of Liechtenstein banks amounted to US$235 billion at the end of 2016. The Liechtenstein financial marketplace is well known…

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a critical aspect in financial services. Financial institutions around the world are making large-scale investments in AI and the trend isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. The World Economic Forum (WEF) projects this number to reach US$10 billion by 2020. AI is enabling financial institutions to drive new efficiencies and deliver new kinds of value in all areas of insurance and finance, from deposits and lending, and payments, to market infrastructure, investment management and capital markets. But to grasp the full potential of AI, all stakeholders including financial institutions and regulators, will need to…

Liechtenstein’s Union Bank AG  announced that it will be the world’s first fully licensed and regulated bank to issue its own security tokens – Union Bank Payment Coin. According to them its Union Bank Payment Coin, is the first that is in alignment with Liechtenstein’s regulatory authority FMA. The Union Bank Payment Coin will be a stable coin that is fully backed by a fiat currencies like the Swiss Francs. Operating in the blockchain-friendly environment of Liechtenstein, Union Bank AG already supports ICOs and clients by partnering with crypto-brokers and crypto-advisors to facilitate efficient and transparent conversions between crypto and…

Self-custody is an important and fundamentally native feature of cryptocurrency. A blockchain-based digital asset can be stored by its owner without the help of traditional financial intermediaries, such as banks, registered brokers/dealers or qualified custodians. But just because you can store all your coins yourself, should you? The answer depends on many factors, for example, the variety of currencies, the frequency of transfer and the complexities and risks of self-custody which commensurate with the size of funds being stored. Moreover, your custody solution will differ depending on whether you are a typical consumer, a high net worth individual, an asset…

The term blockchain has evolved tremendously since its infancy, we’d spend time talking about it’s transformational nature and disruptive potential, but we’re sure you’ve heard plenty of it from the blockchain experts that are suddenly coming up from the woodworks. While there are varying opinions on blockchain from detractors arguing that blockchain is a crappy technology all the way to evangelists calling it the most disruptive technology in decades – there’s one thing we can all agree on is that the development in this space is dizzying. Which is why we think events Blockchain For Finance 2018 EU can come in handy for…

Seit der Lancierung von VIAC – der digitalen Säule 3a – sind bereits 9 Monate vergangen. In dieser kurzen Zeit wurde bereits die Marke von CHF 50 Mio. an verwalteten Vermögen überschritten. Diese verteilen sich auf nicht weniger als 4‘300 Kunden. Damit zählt VIAC zu den schnellst wachsenden Fintech Start-Ups der Schweiz. Pro Woche werden mehr als hundert 3a Beziehungen per VIAC-App eröffnet und weit über eine Million CHF investiert. Diese Zahlen erreicht das Unternehmen ohne gross Werbung zu machen. «Wir haben uns entschieden, unsere finanziellen Ressourcen besser in unser Produkt zu stecken», erklärt Daniel Peter, Initiant hinter der VIAC…

Swiss fintech startups raised a total of CHF 288 million through nine initial coin offerings (ICOs) in the first half of 2018, surpassing venture capital (VC) investments, according to a new report by e-foresight, the IFZ and Swisscom. The rise of ICOs is real and considerable in Switzerland with the total amount raised by ICOs already surpassing the whole year 2017 with CHF 283 million and seven ICOs. The nine ICOs in the first half of 2018 were Swissborg Invest AG, Tend Technologies AG, AidCoin, Proxeus, Envion AG, Traxia Stiftung, TokenPay Swiss AG, Odin Wealthmanagement AG, and Trade.io. The trend…

Switzerland, a world renowned banking and financial hub, has witnessed a growing fintech ecosystem in the past years fueled by supportive regulations, a large pool of available tech and finance talent, and banks’ desire to innovate. Geneva is one of Switzerland’s top fintech hubs, currently home to 22 fintech companies, behind only of Zurich with 88, and Zug with 45, according to the IFZ Fintech Study 2018. In the Geneva fintech scene, here are ten existing startups to watch closely: Foxstone Founded in 2016, Foxstone is an online crowdfunding platform allowing potential investors and buyers to get in touch…

In the face of growing competition, changing consumer expectations and the broader digitalization of our economy, incumbent financial institutions must embrace digital change and welcome the idea of partnering with digital enablers and fintechs, according to global business and technology consultancy firm Capco. In a new paper, Capco urges banks and financial institutions to not underestimate the tech giants that are progressively entering the financial services industry, and begin to formulate a digital strategy in order to remain relevant while serving their stakeholders even better. Embrace digital change Leading Internet firms such as Google, Amazon, Alibaba and Facebook have fundamentally changed…

The small Mediterranean island of Malta is quickly emerging as a popular location for entrepreneurs to set up blockchain and cryptocurrency businesses, thanks to the country’s supportive government that sees the industry as an economic opportunity to create regulations favorable to the growth of the sector. Blockchain regulation The Parliamentary secretary for financial services in Malta, Silvio Schembri, unveiled in February plans to establish the Malta Digital Innovation Authority and introduce three bills in relation to distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchain. The proposed legislation is likely to make Malta the first country in the world to fully regulate…

Digital trading network Instimatch Global welcomes a new board member this month, following the previous appointments of a new CEO and Executive Chairman in July. Daniel Sandmeier had been appointed as CEO and Michael Schmidt as Executive Chairman in July. The incoming board member, Lamine Brahimi, is also Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the digital asset platform, Taurus Group SA. Instimatch Global intends to leverage its current presence in four European countries to spur further international growth. Founded in 2016 by Hugh Macmillen, Instimatch Global aims to change the way money markets work by digitalising voice brokerage and shifting operations from…

On September 26-29, 2018, FinCon18 Orlando, the country’s premier conference for financial bloggers, will bring together more than 2,000 digital content creators and brands in personal finance and investing. The four-day event will provide participants with a platform to connect and share. These will hear from some of the most successful bloggers in the industry and learn how to create better content, reach a wider audience, and make more money. In light of the upcoming FinCon event, we have compiled a list of the nine most must-read personal finance blogs out there that will help you accomplish your financial goals…

As one of the most regulated industries in the world, fintech companies face one big obstacle in scaling: expanding into different regions. Each nation not only comes with its own quirks and market conditions, it also comes with a strict set of regulations that could break your entire business upon entry. Usually, the best way to expand is to anticipate a regulator’s response to your business and adapt it accordingly. This is why the the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) collaborated with regulators around the world to create an open network for innovative fintech firms to interact with regulators. Beyond…

Developments in blockchain technology are transforming many industries including financial services, insurance, legal, and healthcare. To better understand the opportunities and challenges that blockchain brings to businesses, and keep up with this rapidly evolving world, the following list combines some of the most comprehensive courses available in Switzerland covering blockchain technology, distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrencies, and initial coin offerings (ICOs): Digital Finance IMD October 17-19, 2018 IMD Switzerland, Ch. de Bellerive 23, P.O. Box 915, CH-1001 Lausanne The Digital Finance program aims to help participants understand emerging financial technologies and see how they can create value and revenue. Participants…

Switzerland has a long history of doing business in Singapore. Today, over 400 Swiss companies, which mainly operate in the areas of banking, transport and logistics, biotech, insurance and professional services, are present in the city-state. According to the Business Times, these businesses are now employing approximately 28,000 people in Singapore. Today, the business ties between Singapore and Switzerland are stronger than ever as the two countries look to excel in fintech development and adoption. For Swiss fintech companies, Singapore acts as the key hub in and a gateway to Southeast Asia, and several of companies have already taken the…

The European Parliament (EP) has published a new study on the competition challenges arisen from the increasing number of fintech services provided by newcomer startups, traditional financial institutions and Big Tech companies. According to the paper, factors such as network effects derived from the use of online platforms, access to customer data, standardization, interoperability and the use of algorithms could potentially result in anticompetitive behaviors. The study, titled Competition Issues in the Area of Financial Technology (Fintech) and provided by Policy Department A at the request of the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs  (ECON), analyzes these factors…

There are currently 100 wealthtech players in Europe spread across 12 countries, according to the newly released Mapping Wealthtech Europe by Invyo, Seed Founders and Odysseus Alternative Ventures. Wealthtech refers to a segment of fintech that focuses on enhancing wealth management and the retail investment process using cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and big data. Wealthtech has been growing rapidly in the past few years, a trend driven by the numerous challenges that the traditional wealth management sector has been facing including intense competition, fee compression, stricter regulations and evolving customer needs. Wealthtech in Europe In Europe, wealthtech…

The market for cloud services is expected to skyrocket in the next few years, and according to industry experts, there are many reasons to believe that insurers will be in the forefront of this growth. But first: what is cloud computing? Simply put, cloud computing is the delivery of computing services such as servers, storage, databases, networking, software and analytics, over the Internet, or the “cloud.” It is a big shift from the traditional way businesses think about IT resources and among the key advantages of opting for cloud computing services include cost, speed, the ability to scale elastically, productivity,…

Japanese video game giant Nintendo brought back its retro NES Classic Edition console on June 29 and after much hype and success, it has announced that it will continue producing the console throughout 2018. Nintendo of America tweeted the news on July 11: The NES Classic Edition, a miniaturized version of the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), sold out quickly after its first release in November 2016, moving 2.3 million consoles, before oddly announcing in April 2017 that it was discontinuing the product. Nintendo re-introduced the NES Classic Edition last month following high demand and the success of the Super…

Germany’s fintech landscape continues to grow with about 300 fintech companies as of late-2017 that raised a record of US$655.4 million last year. Berlin retains the position of the country’s largest fintech hub, hosting 27% of its fintech companies, followed by the Rhine-Main-Neckar region with its center in Frankfurt with 25%, according to EY. As Germany increasingly establishes its credentials in the European fintech scene, a number of regional events, startup competitions and hackathons are being held in key locations such as Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg. Here are 12 upcoming fintech, digital finance and blockchain events in Germany to attend…