The Swiss crypto broker is further winnowing who can open an account to trade cryptocurrencies, saying it is swamped with demand.
The Zug-based start-up will require private clients to pony up at least 100,000 Swiss francs ($108,000) to get in the door, effective immediately, it said in a statement on its website on Friday. Institutions wanting to buy and sell cryptocurrency will be subject to a 500,000 franc minimum, it said.
It is the second time in as many months the start-up has raised the bar on getting a trading account, as well as lifted its bank guarantee in several stages to now 110 million francs as of last month. Led by CEO Arthur Vayloyan, the company is storming towards a double-digit million profit for 2020, as demand for its services surged when bitcoin hit $50,000 recently.
Weeks-Long Wait
With clients griping of weeks' waiting time to open an account, Bitcoin Suisse said it still wants to make cryptocurrency trading and ownership as widely accessible as possible. «In line with this commitment, we will further accelerate the onboarding process and scale up our operational capacities,» it said.
Vayloyan and Bitcoin Suisse's co-founder Niklas Nikolajsen, both ex-Credit Suisse bankers, are seeking a Swiss bank license. The company raised 45 million francs early last year, including from former Vontobel top banker-turned-investor Roger Studer.
