Swiss Firm Aims for Crypto Nasdaq

Geneva-based Taurus Group said it has designed the first fully regulated trading platform in Europe for digital assets and cryptocurrencies. The push is meant to fill the gap in Switzerland's burgeoning digital currency scene.

Recently-founded Taurus Group said it wants clinched a license to act as a financial intermediary and is applying for one as a securities broker from Swiss regulator Finma. Taurus' aim? The firm wants to build what it says it the first regulated marketplace for digital assets in Europe.

Technology-Led Firm

The company built its technology and recruited last year with several graduates from Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), a prestigious Swiss technical university. The firm is led by:

Sébastien Dessimoz, EPFL
Lamine Brahimi, EPFL
Oren-Olivier Puder, former Finma lawyer
Jean-Philippe Aumasson, EPFL and author of «Serious Cryptography»

«Our objective is to create a Nasdaq for digital assets,» co-founder Dessimoz said in a statement. «We are closely working with clients, financial services institutions, regulators and top academic institutions to develop the services and infrastructure of tomorrow.»

Prestigious Backing

The firm has clinched local support. «We welcome and help projects such as that of Taurus Group SA, as they represent a significant added value for the Geneva's growing ecosystem, in the field of blockchain applications and cryptocurrencies,» said Pierre Maudet, a Geneva government minister.

Tauras' technical advisory board is comprised as follows: