With many younger investors getting into blockchain and cryptocurrencies through various advertisements on the internet, the importance of education in the space becomes more obvious, according to a panel discussion at the CV Summit 2022. Cointelegraph’s editor-in-chief Kristina Cornèr moderated a panel discussion titled “Tokenized Finances, Security Tokens, and the Re-Definition of Value.” Panelists included Massimo Butti, the head of equity at SDX; Nicola Plain, the CEO of Aktionariat; Thomas Eichenberger, the head of business units at Sygnum; and Arnab Naskar, the co-founder of STOKR. During the discussion, several topics were brought up, including how distributed ledger technology (DLT) is …

Switzerland-based technology company Velas has allocated $100 million to startups building on top of the Velas blockchain, marking a sizable increase from its initial pledge of $5 million earlier this year. The grants program is designed to support the growth of the Velas ecosystem and expand its capabilities within Web 3.0, a broad umbrella term that describes the next stage in the internet’s evolution. Like the initial $5 million grants program announced in August, the new funding initiative will allocate up to $100,000 per project. While Velas intends to fund a wide range of projects, developers who are creating solutions …

The Swiss canton of Zug now allows its residents to pay taxes in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). Bitcoin Suisse, a local crypto broker that enabled the new opportunity in partnership with the canton, announced Feb. 17 that the crypto payment option has rolled out this week. The administration of the canton of Zug placed an official memo for the new tax payment option on its official website, providing detailed video instructions for paying tax bills with crypto. “This step forward for crypto adoption has been enabled by the pioneering work from the Zug cantonal tax office using …

As the use of cryptocurrencies continues to spread around the world, a number of countries have established themselves as leaders in adoption. COVID-19 has dominated 2020, and the effects of the ongoing pandemic have stifled many economies. However, the cryptocurrency space has enjoyed a year of resurgence that has seen decentralized finance become a major trend, while Bitcoin (BTC) has finally surpassed its former all-time high of 2017. It is worth noting that governments, policymakers and financial regulators have become far more clued-in on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology over the past two years. This has lent a hand to the …

The Swiss canton of Zug is making it easier to imagine a world in which cryptocurrency users are resolutely in the mainstream. The canton — which has earned itself the moniker of "Crypto Valley" for its positive stance towards cryptocurrencies — will begin allowing citizens to pay taxes in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). According to Bloomberg on Sept. 3, “tax settlement by means of crypto currency will be available to both companies and private individuals up to an amount of 100,000 Swiss francs ($109,670).” Roughly 127,000 people live in the region, which has previously taken steps to accept Bitcoin …

The Swiss government has denied a 100 million franc request by the Canton of Zug for use in keeping local crypto companies afloat, according to local newspaper Tages-Anzeiger. Zug’s finance director Heinz Taennler initiated support for the financial package earlier in April to support local blockchain companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the answer he’s getting isn’t the one he wanted. The Crypto Valley bailout was reportedly the only one out of “around two dozen” COVID-related applications to be rejected by the federal government. Local crypto firms will have to make do with a 15 million Swiss franc loan …

Crypto Finance AG, the operator of several institution-oriented crypto businesses, has raised 14 million Swiss francs ($14.5 million) in a Series B funding round led by well-known investors from across Europe and Asia. The Zug-based business will use the funds to continue developing professional crypto asset infrastructure, management and trading services, founder and CEO Jan Brzezek said on April 16. As reported, one of Crypto Finance AG’s three subsidiaries is the crypto investment fund, Crypto Fund AG, which received Switzerland’s first crypto asset management license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority back in 2018. Crypto Finance AG, a holding …

The municipality of Zermatt, Switzerland — home to the iconic Matterhorn — is now the second location in Switzerland where taxpayers are officially allowed to pay their taxes in Bitcoin (BTC). In order to unlock the new tax payment option, the authorities of the Zermatt have partnered with Switzerland’s major crypto financial services company Bitcoin Suisse. Bitcoin Suisse to convert Bitcoin into Swiss francs According to an announcement by Bitcoin Suisse, Zermatt started accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment for local taxes and transactions on Jan. 28, 2020. By partnering with Bitcoin Suisse, the authorities of Zermatt are now …

The combined valuation of the top 50 blockchain-related firms in the Swiss canton of Zug — known as “Crypto Valley” within the industry — fell by nearly half in 2019. Swiss investment firm CV VC debuted a new report at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 22, giving an appraisal of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries in the Crypto Valley during the last year. Per the report, the valuation and subsequent price drop in Ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, led to a 40% drop in valuation of the top 50 firms — from …

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 …