Blythe Masters, one of the main exponents of the blockchain technology, in April acquired a Zurich-based startup. She explains the reasoning behind the purchase in an exclusive interview with finews.ch and evaluates the competition of the big banks.

Elevence went rather unnoticed in Switzerland until the takeover by Digital Asset. How did you first get to the Swiss startup?

Elevence were first introduced to Digital Asset by their adviser, Martin Korbmacher.

Elevence is also the first foothold for Digital Asset in Europe. Is it important that the firm is based in Switzerland – and how visible is the country as a European blockchain-hub?

We acquired a Budapest-based company in April 2015 called Bits of Proof. Additionally, we also have an office in London, so we have had a presence in Europe for quite some time now. It is important that we have a strong European presence to support our investors and clients who are European based. Many European countries, including Switzerland, which has a very strong technical education base, have already recognized the potential for distributed ledger technology and this trend is continuing.

«We will continue to look for talent and technology that complement our teams and product offerings.»

Could Digital Assets acquire other Swiss startups?

Digital Asset is growing very quickly, both organically and through acquisitions. Since our launch, we have acquired four start-ups in the distributed ledger technology space. We will continue to look for talent and technology that complement our teams and product offerings.

When will the technologies developed at Digital Asset in Switzerland and the U.S. be ready to be deployed? And where do you see the first buyers?

Digital Asset has working prototypes and numerous trials underway with clients, with a view to beginning to deploy our technology in certain markets within the next year. Currently, we are focused on clearing and settlement applications for market infrastructures and their customers. Additionally, the foundational work to standardize this technology is gaining tremendous momentum in the open source community.

«We believe that collaboration can enable the standardization of blockchain technology at a pace and depth not achievable by any one company.»

Swiss banks such as UBS and Credit Suisse are also taking part in the blockchain-venture R3CEV. Do you see this as a competitor to Digital Asset, or is the mood more collaborative at the moment?

There are many large companies, small startups, individuals and consortiums working on blockchain projects both separately and in collaboration. One collaborative group is the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger project that was announced in December with the goal of advancing unified distributed ledger technology where both Digital Asset and R3 are premier members and contributors. We believe that this collaboration can enable the standardization of blockchain technology at a pace and depth not achievable by any one company and will help identify and address important features for cross-industry open standards for distributed ledgers.


Blythe Masters, a former investment banker, who once achieved fame as a co-founder of credit default swaps (CDS), is in the limelight as a main exponent of the blockchain startup industry.

Masters is the chief executive officer of Digital Asset. She has won ASX, the Australian stock exchange operator, as a customer and investor and Accenture, PwC and Broadridge as partners. Goldman Sachs recently injected $60 million into Digital Asset.

In April, Digital Asset acquired Elevence, a startup based in Zurich. The company is also working on the development of blockchain and is one of Digital Asset's footholds in Europe.