"SIX, the company that owns and operates the Swiss stock exchange, on Friday announced plans to launch a fully regulated cryptocurrency exchange, showing continued institutional interest in the space."
"Switzerland’s fast-growing cryptocurrency industry could have full access to conventional banking services by the end of the year, removing one of the restrictions to future growth, a top Swiss policymaker has said."
"Residents of the Swiss city, Zug, will use the city’s eID system to vote using their smartphones this month as part of a blockchain based voting test."
"The SNB raked in ENORMOUS investment profits because they printed hundreds of billions of francs, which inflated the prices of assets that they themselves were buying. And today, because of those artificial investment gains that they engineered for themselves, the SNB is now the most profitable company in the world. Oh, and just so you know the other half of the story, while the central bank is raking in record profits, total debt in Switzerland has skyrocketed."
"In the most ironic story of the day, the company that makes the paper that Swiss banknotes are printed on was just bailed out by the money-printing, stock-purchasing, plunge-protecting, savior-of-global equities...Swiss National Bank."
"Switzerland-based Viking Cruises, which wanted to build and send small cruise ships up the Mississippi River, leaving new tourism dollars for river towns in its wake, is backing off its plan. Our own federal laws are to blame. More specifically, President Grover Cleveland's Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA). The 1886 law requires that in order to ferry passengers between ports in the United States, the ship must have been built in the United States and be owned and operated by Americans."
"The Swiss government has created a blockchain taskforce to begin regulatory framework on startups and initial coin offerings. Switzerland has long been accepting toward blockchain startups and cryptocurrency organisations, and is home to 'Crypto Valley,' a region in the country known for the number of companies developing projects based on the technology."
"It’s no ordinary vault: I’ve been told it’s inside a decommissioned Swiss military bunker dug into a granite mountain. Its precise location is secret, and access is limited by security measures that would put a Bond villain to shame."
"The Alternative Bank Schweiz (ABS) caused shockwaves with a letter sent to all clients informing them that it would begin imposing interest charges on deposits in 2016. For current accounts, the bank said it would impose a -0.125-percent rate, while slapping a -0.75-percent rate on client deposits higher than 100,000 Swiss francs. ABS, which grew out of the ideals the 1960's protest movement, justified the unprecedented development by saying it would provide manoeuvering room for financing 'meaningful projects'. The Swiss central bank introduced a negative deposit rate in January after it abruptly abandoned its three-year effort to hold down the franc's exchange rate to protect exports." Continue reading →
"A Swiss court has ruled that Credit Suisse's decision to provide US tax authorities with information on an employee was illegal, according to the ruling made public Monday. In April 2012, the Swiss government gave 11 Swiss banks the go-ahead to accommodate a US tax evasion probe and hand over the names of thousands of their employees and consultants working with American clients. Fearful of harsh US penalties and prosecution, the banks then met Washington's demands, handing over personal information about numerous staff members, and reportedly also making personal documents, emails and details of telephone calls available." Continue reading →