A former Credit Suisse banker is launching an initial coin offering to get a luxury venture off the ground. He has prominent support from a cryptocurrency industry heavyweight.
Last week, finews.com reported exclusively that former Credit Suisse digital chief Marco Abele may sell coins to fund his new blockchain-based luxury venture. On Wednesday, Abele confirmed that he will seek to raise funds for the firm, called Tend, through an initial coin offering.
Cryptocurrencies are big business in Switzerland, and have drawn international regulatory scrutiny including from Swiss, U.S, and Singapore regulators.
Abele, who was ousted at Credit Suisse last year and left the bank in August, has enlisted Oliver Bussmann (pictured above), the former information technology boss at UBS, as a strategic advisor. Bussmann, a well-known player in Switzerland's «crypto valley» scene, left the Swiss bank early last year and has since set up his own consulting firm.
Bond-Like Structure
The firm, called Tend, said it aims for its ICO to be fully compliant with regulations; there are few rules governing coin offerings. The Swiss regulator last month said it is investigating several recent coin sales launched from Switzerland, shortly after several including Tezos Foundation's $232 million coin sale drew wider attention.
Abele appeared undeterred by the unfavorable publicity surrounding this type of fund-raising, which represents an attempt to circumvent traditional money sources like venture capital.
«Token-generating events are, we are convinced, the future of financing innovative new ventures like ours,» Abele said in a statement. He hopes to raise 30 million Swiss francs by selling tokens, to be structured much like a bond under Swiss law, the former banker told «City A.M.» and «Financial News».
