Bitcoin Suisse is raise funding for $50 million to pursue expansion plans moving into the banking sector
Bitcoin Suisse has announced a Series A funding round at a pre-money valuation of CHF 275 million (around $ 283 million). The company reports commitments of around CHF 20 million from “friends and family.” The funding round is being led by Roger Studer, a Swiss Banker and former Head of Vontobel Investment Bank (SIX: VONN), and the Studer Family Office.
Currently, Bitcoin Suisse operates a trading service, prime brokerage, custody, lending, staking, tokenization, and other crypto-financial services for both individuals and institutions.
Bitcoin Suisse seeking almost 50 million Swiss francs to expand into the banking sector
Switzerland has emerged as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction home to many blockchain-based companies. Policymakers and regulators have sought to encourage robust yet compliant development of this sector of Fintech.
According to Bitcoin Suisse, a total of 20% of shares in BTCS Holding AG, the holding company owning and controlling all Bitcoin Suisse subsidiaries, with full voting and dividend rights, are being offered to qualified, accredited and professional investors. The share issuance represents 10% treasury shares and 10% newly issued shares if the offering is over-subscribed.
Bitcoin Suisse is currently generating about CHF 1.8 million in top-line revenue a month. In 2018, the company reported a net profit of CHF 25 million.
The additional capital will help to fuel cross border licensing efforts, for the company’s expansion plans, which include a move into the banking sector. The offering kicks off on May 11th and is expected to continue through mid-June 2020. There is a minimum ticket size of CHF 250,000.
The report stated Bitcoin Suisse has a high-quality offer, based on a proven and rugged business with state-of-the-art technology, and stands as a market leader in the Swiss crypto-financial space, poised to overgrow.
The CEO of Bitcoin Suisse, Arthur Vayloyan, explained that as Bitcoin Suisse transitions into becoming a Swiss bank company, equity above CHF 100m will provide a strong balance sheet.
Vayloyan said:
“The Series A round opens the way to greatly accelerate and grow the business volume of Bitcoin Suisse, as well as its profitability. It is the right move for the company, and it is an excellent opportunity for investors to join an extraordinary journey”.
The company founder and President of the Board, Niklas Nikolajsen, explained that Bitcoin Suisse is his life’s work, and this Series A constitutes their first-ever capital raise.
“With the CHF 54 million of company capital gathered through many years of retained earnings, we have come a long way. But looking forward, we could face limitations as to the speed of our growth, as we see a great demand for collateralized loans, liquidity provision – and an ever-increasing need to secure our on-balance client deposits through Swiss banks guarantees. With the Series A and the capital raised, we will be able to continue our exponential growth, as well as expand with cross border licenses.”
Bitcoin Suisse also intends to improve its proprietary trading and credit business, and hold some funds for further acquisitions. Last October the firm purchased a minority stake in CoinRoutes, a provider of pan-exchange smart order routing and algorithmic trading software.
It also has plans to hold a security token offering, or STO, in 2021 and get listed on a stock exchange the following year.
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