The Swiss crypto broker and aspiring bank detailed the next steps towards becoming a publicly-traded company after hoovering up almost $50 million in a funding round. 

Zug-based Bitcoin Suisse shares won't trade publicly before the end of 2022 or beginning of 2023, founder and co-CEO Niklas Nikolajsen signaled in an interview with Swiss newswire «AWP» (behind paywall, in German). The Danish-born entrepreneur outlined the next strategic steps for the Swiss crypto broker, which is seeking to follow Seba and Sygnum in winning a Swiss banking license.

Next year, Nikolajsen and co-CEO Arthur Vayloyan want to carry out a security token offering, or STO. The goal is not to raise money – though Bitcoin Suisse's profit dropped dramatically to 2.4 million Swiss francs ($2.6 million) last year amid hefty investments

Blueprint Of Security Tokens

Instead, the seven-year-old fintech wants to demonstrate how an STO works, Nikolajsen (pictured below) told the outlet. He voiced confidence that this year Bitcoin Suisse will report «higher profit and markedly more revenue,» without elaborating.

Niklas Nikolajsen

The company, which has attracted a swath of banking luminaries as investors and executives, wants to license itself as a bank in Liechtenstein as well as in Switzerland, Nikolajsen said. By contrast, an initial public offering isn't an «immediate priority.»

Banking Activities

Vayloyan's and Nikolajsen's efforts come as traditional Swiss wealth managers soften their opposition to digital assets. For example, Bitcoin Suisse offers loans against crypto assets as collateral. The company wants a banking license in order to hold assets, not necessarily to become a traditional bank.

Bitcoin Suisse's success has boosted the wealth of Nikolajsen, a computer programmer and passionate libertarian. In 2018, he opened a Swiss family office and splashed out on an 18th-century lakeside estate. He and his wife, Anne-Christine Cath Nikolajsen, plan to convert the landmark into a commune for Bitcoin Suisse co-workers and partners as well as their growing family.