Niklas Nikolajsen, who co-founded the Swiss crypto broker eight years ago, is handing over the chairmanship to a long-time associate.
Bitcoin Suisse chairman Niklas Nikolajsen, who co-founded the crypto firm in 2013, is stepping down for personal reasons, he said in a statement on Friday. The crypto broker is naming Luzius Meisser (pictured below) as its chairman, effective January 1.
«It is now the time for me to dedicate more attention to my private affairs, not least my family,» said Nikolajsen, a Danish native who has added «von Karlshof» to his last name after adopting a family seat in Switzerland. The father of two remains a sizeable shareholder, adviser, and honorary chairman.
Retreat Of License Plan
The surprising move comes nine months after the broker was forced to retreat on a Swiss banking license, after being told by regulator Finma that it hadn't done enough to root out money laundering. This led Bitcoin Suisse, led by CEO Arthur Vayloyan, to strengthen its ranks several months later.
It remains wildly profitable: Niklajsen said Bitcoin Suisse is on its way to nearly doubling last year's net profit of 24.1 million Swiss francs ($26.1 million), in a social media post on Friday.
Meisser, a Swiss economist and computer scientist, has sat on Bitcoin Suisse's board since 2017. He co-founded a secure cloud storage startup, later sold it, and co-founded Swiss token technology company Aktionariat last year.
Flamboyant Libertarian
Nikolajsen is a flamboyant, iconic figure in Switzerland's so-called crypto valley. A fierce libertarian, he established a family office to manage his growing fortune in 2018, the same year he and his wife snapped up a heritage landmark on Zug's lakeside.
He isn't shy about showing off his hobbies like shooting machine guns or, most recently, buying a rare World War II-era tank. Nikolajsen's co-founders Fabian Hediger and Andrej Majcen remain with the firm as head of innovation and of client services, respectively.
