The leading Swiss crypto broker is changing strategy. To take advantage of the current rally in tokens and coins, it has decided to withdraw its banking license application, prompting Dirk Klee to resign.

HODL, short for «Hang On for Dear Life», is a known saying used by crypto-aficionados that means keeping your coins and tokens even when they have become practically worthless.

The board members of Bitcoin Suisse can't be accused of that, at least not now. The oldest and largest crypto-broker know Switzerland announced on Tuesday it would withdraw its Swiss banking application for the time being, something that it had been pursuing for years.

Andrej Majcen Takes Over



Given that, Dirk Klee (image below) is resigning his job effective February as CEO of the Zug-based fintech, to be succeeded by co-founder Andrej Majcen, also the former chief client officer who was last the head of global expansion and strategic clients at Bitcoin.

Klee, a former UBS executive, has worked to turn the business into one that is comparable in many respects to that of a financial institution, comprising the relevant processes, a comprehensive anti-money laundering framework, and the necessary IT platform. Still, he will continue to work as an advisor for Bitcoin until the end of the year, particularly in the area of crypto asset management. 



Trade and Staking as Drivers

The change, and the change in its two-year-old strategy, is largely due to the board of directors under chairman Luzius Meisser as Bitcoin Suisse wants to take advantage of the current bull market in digital assets, both Klee and Majcen told finews.com.



In 2022 and 2023 the company suffered under the effect of the widespread global crypto-winter and it currently has about 4.6 billion francs in crypto assets in custody and it earns most of its money from trading digital assets. It is one of the five largest companies in the world when it comes to the staking of coins and tokens and the opportunity costs would be high if it missed the current bull run in digital assets.



Coding Freeze

That would likely be the case if it continued to pursue an application for a Swiss banking license, according to management. According to Klee and Majcen, this would mean a so-called coding freeze of the business at the point that the application was submitted. They would then not be in a position to make changes to the platform, the business model, and the offering until Finma has made a final decision.

«It is a tedious process that could take up to one and a half years», Klee maintains. That is why, for the time being, Bitcoin has buried the idea of becoming a Swiss bank to prevent blocking its business for months.

The Liechtenstein Alternative

Two other factors speak for a withdrawal. According to Majcen and Klee, one of them comprises the heightened legal safeguards when it comes to staking by non-banks and the planned limits of the crypto-business within banks by way of new equity requirements. Until then, the company may attempt to apply for a Finma asset management license as well as a banking license with the Liechtenstein supervisor FMA.


The latter would provide easier access to the European Union (EU) as the principality is part of the European Economic Area (EEA), unlike Switzerland. Doing that would help with the intended expansion into Europe and other markets, such as the Middle East.



Blowing Hot and Cold

Bitcoin Suisse started an initial project under Klee to apply for a Finma license. At the time, it was seen as an important step forward after the regulatory supervisors had given them the cold shoulder in 2019 related to the company's plans to become a bank when, ostensibly, there had been gaps in compliance. That was when management buried the intention to apply for a license and hired Klee, a former banker, to pave the way for a second attempt.

The constant blowing of hot and cold has not led to any loss of trust with authorities, Klee indicates. Instead, the authorities understand that the Swiss market environment and the overall framework including crypto-regulation, is changing rapidly.

 The EU and the UK are currently understood to be looking at giving out specific crypto licenses instead of trying to handle the assets under banking regulations.

Trading DNA

Bitcoin Suisse will keep the moving target that is regulation in sight even while it relies on its business strengths - trading and staking. That is also something that the founders, which include Majcen, and the outwardly flamboyant Niklas Nikolajsen have been very successful with for many years.

Still, it remains to be seen whether following their trading DNA is the right thing to do.