South Korea has revealed plans to launch a blockchain center in Busan city modeled on the Swiss Crypto Valley, local news outlet Edaily reported June 14. At a recent blockchain event in Seoul “2018 Global Blockchain Conference,” chairman of the Korea ICT Financial Convergence Association Oh Jung-geun claimed that the organization seeks to build a space similar to the “Crypto Valley” located in the Swiss canton of Zug. "We need a place to concentrate on the cryptographic industry in Korea like the Crypto Valley in Switzerland," Oh said at the event. The association reportedly plans to launch the “Crypto Beach” …

A new organization called the Capital Markets and Technology Association (CMTA) has been formed in Switzerland in order to facilitate the use of blockchain technology in financial markets, according to a press release published June 12. The CMTA was established in Geneva by Swiss leader in online banking Swissquote, market software provider Temenos, and the country’s largest law firm Lenz & Staehelin. According to the press release, the CMTA will focus on creating open standards and toolkits that can be employed by various types of companies to raise capital by applying new technologies and digitalization. Jacques Iffland, CMTA's chair, and …

Switzerland voted against the so-called “sovereign money” referendum Sunday, June 10 – a proposal for a financial system that multiple commentators have compared to cryptocurrency. Sovereign money is an initiative that would give the country’s central bank sole control over creating money, instead of continuing to allow commercial banks to “create” money for credit and loan purposes. Switzerland’s sovereign money referendum – which garnered around 25% or 500,000 affirmative votes – was opposed by Switzerland’s central bank, which stated that a passing vote would have made its work “considerably more difficult.” According to Beat Weber of the Austrian National Bank, …

The Swiss city of Zug will conduct a blockchain-powered trial municipal vote this summer, local media outlet Swissinfo.ch reported June 8. The event, which is scheduled to take place between June 25 and July 1, will reportedly be Switzerland’s first municipal vote using blockchain. According to the report, the upcoming trial vote will implement the city’s digital ID (eID) system that was launched in November 2017. The system will allow citizens to vote via their mobile devices. Apart from voting on minor municipal matters, citizens will also be asked if blockchain-based eID system should be used for referendum votes in …

Hypothekarbank Lenzburg has become the first bank in Switzerland to provide business accounts to blockchain and cryptocurrency companies, Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reported June 6. While Falcon Private Bank has provided crypto asset management services since last year, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg CEO Marianne Wildi confirmed that they are first bank in the country to open company accounts for blockchain and crypto-related fintech companies. Wildi said: "As a bank that sets itself up technologically and pursues a cooperative strategy in the field of fintech, it is also a matter of credibility to work together with the young sector of crypto and blockchain companies …

Representatives from multiple central banks discussed whether or not cryptocurrency could spell the end of fiat currencies during the Money20/20 conference in Amsterdam today, June 5. During a panel talk titled “Cryptocurrency, the Central (Bank) Question”, representatives from the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of Lithuania, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Canada took turns responding to the question “Can cryptocurrencies spell the end of fiat currencies?”. Bank of Canada executive James Chapman stated that cryptocurrencies are only a threat to fiat currencies in a “situation of hyperinflation”. Thomas Moser, an alternate member of the governing board at …

Swiss airport ground handling and cargo company Swissport is launching a blockchain pilot program for its cargo handling business, Air Cargo News reported May 29. The company is launching a pilot program in cooperation with Olam, a non-profit organization aiming to develop an open source platform for supply chain partners. Hendrik Leyssens, head of global cargo operations at Swissport, said that blockchain could speed up transactions, improve security, and help reduce operational costs. He added: “Thinking beyond traditional messaging, blockchain could eventually become the new standard allowing us to overcome the chronic lack of transparency, which is typical for fragmented …

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. As society starts to move away from cash, central banks’ potential to reap profits off issuing that cash could be threatened. Many governments are worried about the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies and hence are considering the merits of creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Central banks have woken up to the risks cryptocurrencies can pose to policy makers’ bread-and-butter business: the economy. Hence the debate about the pros and cons of government digital currency closed private blockchains versus …

Switzerland is ranked number one in a list of the top ten European countries for starting a blockchain company, according to a study released by blockchain conference BlockShow Europe 2018. In the list of best countries for starting a blockchain company, Gibraltar and Malta follow Switzerland in second and third respectively. The study consisted of 48 European countries that were examined for rankings by Initial Coin Offering (ICO) regulations, regulations on crypto as a payment service, and taxation frameworks for crypto. Switzerland is known as a crypto-friendly nation due to both its establishment of a virtual currency hub, “crypto valley,” …

The Federal Council of the Government of Switzerland has requested a report on the risks and opportunities of introducing its own state-backed digital currency, or so called “e-franc”, Reuters reported May 17. The Federal Council moved to investigate the subject at the prompt of Swiss lawmaker and vice-president of the Social Democratic Party, Cedric Wermuth. Now, the lower house of the Swiss parliament has to decide whether to support the Federal Council’s request for research. Should the proposal be approved, the Swiss Finance Ministry will conduct a study on the subject. No time frame has been published regarding the process. …

British Virgin Islands-based Bitfinex, the fifth largest crypto trading platform in the world in terms of trading volume, intends to relocate its business to Zug, Switzerland, Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reported Tuesday, March 27. Jean Louis van der Velde, CEO at Bitfinex, confirmed the exchange’s plans to the Swiss business newspaper Handelszeitung Tuesday. The Bitfinex leadership has reportedly met several times with the State Secretariat for International Finance SIF and also with the Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Ammann, who heads the Economic Department of Switzerland. "We are looking for a new domicile for Bitfinex and the parent company iFinex, where we want …

The way we shop online is going to change by leaps and bounds in the years to come. As the Internet is becoming more widespread, the number of online shoppers and businesses is on the rise. Whether it be self-employed entrepreneurs, small-scale manufacturers or family businesses - they either already have an online store or want one in order to serve more customers and increase revenues. Just like many other industries, Blockchain technology will disrupt the e-commerce field. In order to keep up with change, both consumers and businesses will look for effective ways to buy and sell goods. Storiqa …