Switzerland awards first Bitcoin licence

Switzerland has taken steps to embrace Bitcoin and increase security surrounding coin exchanges by issuing its very first Bitcoin licence. The recipient of the licence is the owner of Payment 21, Moving Media. The company is the first of its kind to gain full regulatory compliance from the financial regulator in Switzerland. Moving Media announced the move in a blog post, stating that they had acquired a licence as a Directly Subordinated Financial Intermediary (DSFI). The issuing of the licence means that the financial services authority in Switzerland has become what is known as a compliant partner when it comes to KYC and AML regulation.  

Substantial effort

Moving Media has stated that the licence was as a result of more than a year's worth of "substantial effort and investment." Bernhard Kaufmann, the Managing Director of Moving Media stated that the company was committed to meeting any legal requirements put in place by the financial marketplace in Switzerland. He welcomed the fact Moving Media has been issued the licence by saying it demonstrated Swiss regulators were willing to embrace a level of competitiveness within financial services.  Kaufmann is not alone in his optimism, in fact his mood seems to be shared throughout Switzerland, with more and more companies looking to trade specifically in bitcoin. Even two of the country's biggest banks decided to launch exposure to both Bitcoin and Ethereum earlier in the year.

Elsewhere, further regulations has seen additional options made available for citizens who want to interact with cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin directly. Summing up, Kaufmann said that Government licensing was absolutely vital when it comes to establishing a business in the payments field. Having official approval will set Moving Media apart from its competition in what is an increasingly crowded marketplace, and with Payment21 looking to expand into further sectors, the company could be about to experience significant growth.