Tokensuisse CEO Alain Kunz was poised for a key role in a new Swiss bank. Instead, he is leaving the company that swallowed his cryptocurrency project, finews.com has learned.
Its website and commercial register entry still exist, but Zug-based crypto start-up Tokensuisse has quietly folded. Co-founders Alain Kunz (pictured below) and Claudio Rossi have both left the company after failing to agree on short-term strategy with Chairman David Bisang, the latter told finews.com.
Bisang is trying to get a Swiss private bank – Tallyon – off the ground, as finews.com reported four months ago. He originally tasked Kunz with a central role – in October, he was pegged as the bank's CEO.
«Symbiotic» Vision
The failed partnership began more than a year ago, when Bisang first contacted the Tokensuisse founders, according to a document seen by finews.com. «The vision laid out by Tokensuisse's founders was symbiotic with David Bisang's plans, so in May 2019 David Bisang acquired Tokensuisse in order to merge his project with experienced specialists in blockchain and crypto technology,» the document said.
Tokensuisse's website makes no mention of the change. In April, the company had added two board members – including Reichmuth & Co private banker Dionys Berwert. By August, the new additions were gone and Bisang had taken over the chairmanship.
Industry Tie-Ups
Tokensuisse's dissolution was decided at the end of 2019, according to the document. Of six people, two people are moving to Tallyon, Bisang told finews.com. They will contribute know-how, even if the company isn't pursuing its original offering.
Tokensuisse had clinched a tie-up with crypto platform Iconomi for example, through which it wanted to make digital currencies accessible to investors. And the company wanted to help Swiss bank Hypothekarbank Lenzburg set up a broader crypto offering.
Not a Crypto Bank
Bisang, who is impeccably connected in Zug's «crypto valley,» told finews.com that he isn't working on a crypto bank to compete with Seba and Syngum, which won Swiss banking licenses last autumn – nor with other, blockchain-focused firms.
«Our goal is to maintain a traditional private bank profitably by using newer technology,» Bisang said. «This includes an agile IT infrastructure as well as new technologies. We're not a crypto bank.»
Co-Founding Duo
Kunz didn't respond to a request for comment from finews.com. Tokensuisse isn't the first company founded by the graduate of St. Gallen's prestigious business university: the one-time Leonteq banker co-founded Polarlab, which is involved in the reporting and management of structured products and derivatives.
His co-founder, Rossi, built Clarus Capital's asset management arm before venturing out on his own. Kunz and Rossi will continue to advise the company, but no longer have an active role.
