SIX is pushing ahead with the 2020 rollout of its digital assets exchange, maintaining that it is “reasonably on track” with a team over 100 people. Thomas Zeeb, head securities and exchanges, discusses regulatory roadblocks, partnership with the Swiss National Bank, and why they’re eyeing assets like art and wine. He also predicts that it will be at least a decade before SIX looks into “decommissioning” its traditional exchange. “And in our world at the moment,” he says, “that’s a heck of a long time.”Building a blockchain dialogue between Switzerland and Germany
Germany may be ahead in funding, but the regulatory environment for blockchain start-ups in Switzerland is more favorable. Zug investment firm CV VC explains why the two countries need to build a closer dialogue on blockchain.
We’re open to partnerships with SIX, says Swisscom Blockchain CEO
Swisscom and Deutsche Börse have turned the shares of a Swiss company into tokens and traded them using blockchain as part of a pilot project. Swisscom Blockchain CEO Lukas Hohl says the partnership with Deutsche Börse is “on track” and that they are also open to partnership discussions with SIX Swiss Exchange.
November 15: What happened in blockchain this week?
Swiss blockchain start-ups head to the Singapore Fintech Festival; SEBA Bank now accepts clients from Switzerland; Novartis ramps up focus on blockchain; and the ambitious plan to bring Bitcoin to the masses in Switzerland.
Novartis to go live with blockchain projects in 2020
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis will ramp up its focus on blockchain in 2020. “We are now at the point where we say, we want to go live,” says blockchain lead Marco Cuomo. The company will start by digitizing manual processes to increase efficiency. Novartis is also leading a blockchain healthcare consortium as part of the Innovative Medicines Initiative. So far, 28 entities are onboard including 11 pharma companies.
Nov. 8: What happened in blockchain this week?
Wecan Tokenize closes sale of Lisbon properties for 11 million euros through digital tokens, Swiss-Singaporean start-up Rice Exchange links up with Fujitsu to tackle the rice trade, and the Bank for International Settlements discusses the e-franc, central bank digital currencies and Libra.
Bank for International Settlements: Libra needs to make a better case
The Basel-based Bank for International Settlements is the bank of central banks. General manager Agustín Carstens sits down to discuss central bank digital currencies and why there’s no “clear case” for an e-franc in Switzerland. On Libra, Carsten says it is a “provocative proposition” but that it still needs to build a better case to convince the BIS.
Nov. 1: What happened in blockchain this week?
Here’s what happened in blockchain in Switzerland this week. The Swiss Blockchain Federation celebrates its first anniversary; Sygnum gets the go-ahead in Singapore; and a new contender eyes the Swiss banking sector.
Swiss Blockchain Federation: 2020 will be challenging
The Swiss Blockchain Federation is celebrating its first anniversary. The organization focuses on promoting Switzerland’s blockchain hub, which stretches from Ticino to Geneva. Its co-founders Mathias Ruch and Lorenz Furrer discuss Libra and express concern over a lack of funding for blockchain start-ups and self-promotion. “We have a lot of competitors all over the world,” says Furrer. “We have to fight for our position.”