While the global industry built around digital assets is losing funding and jobs are falling, Switzerland seems to be weathering the storm relatively well, research says. In fact, more cryptocurrency companies established themselves in the country during the last turbulent year than left it, or the business in general.
Crypto Valley in Switzerland Maintains Number of Residents Despite Crypto Winter
The market downturn and the collapse of platforms like the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and the Terra-luna ecosystem shocked the industry. The negative events of 2022 led to losses for investors, customers, and businesses, while major players like Coinbase and Genesis announced layoffs.
However, data compiled by venture capital firm CV VC shows that crypto-friendly Switzerland has not witnessed anything too spectacular, Swissinfo reported. According to its ‘Top 50’ report, 183 Swiss blockchain companies went bankrupt last year, but 190 startups and foreign companies opened new offices.
The researchers also found that Swiss Crypto Valley, centered on the canton of Zug, now has about the same number of entities as it did in 2021: currently 1,135. They employ 5,766 people, which is only around 4% less than before it started. the crypto winter.
The most prominent Swiss-registered companies to go under were FTX Europe and crypto asset manager Covario. “The Swiss branch of UK-based crypto lender Nexo is also under the microscope after the company’s offices in Bulgaria were searched,” the news portal notes.
Meanwhile, none of the other big names have admitted to being seriously affected by the current volatility in the sector. One of the reasons, the article notes, is the attitude of the Swiss authorities towards potentially corrupt companies.
For example, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority blocked an attempt by subsidiary FTX to acquire Swiss Neue Privat Bank, citing insufficient regulatory oversight over the group’s other global activities.
The CV VC study also shows that the valuation of the top 24 blockchain companies rose 55% to $9.7 billion despite crypto assets losing significant value. The biggest winners among them are 21Shares, an issuer of cryptocurrency-backed exchange-traded certificates, and Gnosis Safe, which manages Ethereum-based assets. Both have been valued at more than $1 billion, according to the report.
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