(16 FEBRUARY 2019)WEEKLY MARKET OUTLOOK 3 :Swiss Crypto Keeps Growing

The Swiss/Liechtenstein-based ‘Crypto Valley’ continues to boom: company numbers are up 20% in the past year to 750 in total, including four unicorns. Blockchain technologies remain highly attractive, despite the plunge in cryptocurrencies last year. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are down 75%, 85% and 60% since January 2018. Companies active in blockchain-based applications and solutions maintained the pace. Switzerland remains a major catalyst in this revolution. For instance, Swiss Infrastructure and Exchange (SIX), a major actor in the blockchain sphere, is expected to launch a digital exchange platform (SDX) that aims at accelerating trade orders and support security token offering (STO) at a later stage. SIX’s new distributed ledger platform is expected to improve efficiency and reduce operational risk while widening the range of tradable securities on its network. SIX would become the first market infrastructure that offers integrated end-to-end trading solutions (with settlement and custody) for digital assets. And it’s not just Switzerland: Overstock.com, a US-based retailer and incubator of blockchain technology, announced that it agreed with both US Teton County and the Mexican municipality of Tulum to develop digitalized land records using blockchain technology. Its subsidiary Medici Land Governance provides next-generation land administration systems. It intends to expand its “tZERO” digital securities trading platform, the first SEC-regulated security token exchange of digital assets. 

By  Vincent Mivelaz