Crypto Valley ® History
The creation of Crypto Valley ® was inspired by the enormous advantages of global industry clusters — a friendly regulatory environment, network effects, economies of scale, attracting the world’s best talent, building deep pools of capital and a rich ecosystem of resources and know-how for startup companies, nurturing an entrepreneurial culture, infectious energy, and strong trust relationships that make the impossible possible.
Crypto Valley ® was initiated by Johann Gevers after identifying Switzerland with its decentralized, citizen-controlled political system, its centuries-old culture of individual rights, innovation, and entrepreneurship, its neutrality, stability, and business-friendly environment, and its world-class infrastructure and educational institutions as the ideal environment for building the new generation of decentralized technologies. Gevers moved his cryptofinance startup Monetas to Zug, Switzerland in July 2013, defined the vision for Crypto Valley ® as a global hub for crypto technologies modeled on the success of Silicon Valley, and started building the Crypto Valley ® ecosystem in Zug, Switzerland by developing supportive relationships with the authorities, attracting leading crypto startups, helping them setup their operations, developing an ecosystem of expert professional service providers, driving the development of a friendly regulatory environment, and promoting Crypto Valley ® in the industry and the media.
Through the broad support of numerous individuals, startups, corporates, service providers, industry associations, educational institutions, governments, and regulators — especially the early pioneers Monetas, Ethereum, Bitcoin Suisse, MME Legal, the Digital Finance Compliance Association, the Bitcoin Association of Switzerland, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the canton and city of Zug, the Greater Zürich Area, Switzerland Global Enterprise, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma), and the Swiss Federal Government — Crypto Valley ® has grown into one of the world’s leading ecosystems for crypto, blockchain, and distributed ledger technologies, with dozens of companies in this space now calling Crypto Valley ® home and thriving in its vibrant community.
In January 2017 the Crypto Valley Association was established as a professional organization to coordinate, accelerate, and scale the further development of Crypto Valley ® into the world’s best ecosystem for crypto technologies and businesses. The founding members were Bitcoin Suisse, Bussmann Advisory, iProtus, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Luxoft, Monetas, and Thomson Reuters.
Supportive Local Government
Located in Zug in the heart of Switzerland, Crypto Valley ® is uniquely positioned to make the most of the decentralized Swiss political system and its business environment. Zug offers a robust platform for global growth due to its pro-business philosophy, openness, and easy accessibility of its local government. Zug’s low-tax, business friendly environment, and fantastic quality of life have attracted many of the world’s leading companies, creating an international, cosmopolitan culture, and easy access to powerful global networks.
Secure and Predictable Legal Framework
Switzerland is known for its strong legal system and culture of privacy, as well as its decentralized political system that is controlled by citizens. This combination provides a high level of legal security, predictability, and protection of intellectual and property rights. Switzerland has a long history of upholding these values and is considered a world leader in these areas.
Sound Policies and Economic Strength
Switzerland has one of the strongest and most stable currencies in the world and follows sound economic policies. Moreover, Switzerlands has by far the highest gold reserves per capita of any country, and the world’s highest GDP per capita.
World-Class Talent
Switzerland has a high-quality educational system, with many top-ranked educational institutions. It has one of the highest R&D spendings per capita and is among the countries with the most Nobel laureates per capita. Switzerland is ranked number 1 in the world for ease of attracting and retaining world-class talent. While Swiss compensation rates are high, this does not necessarily translate into higher labour costs because of the exceptionally high productivity levels. The Swiss work systematically and accurately; they are innovative, self-starters, and honest. In Switzerland you get what you pay for. This is especially true for creative intellectual work such as software engineering.
High Quality of Life
Switzerland is renowned for its high quality of life, which is reflected in its top-ranked infrastructure, safety, health care, education, and work-life balance. The country is home to three of the world’s top ten cities in terms of quality of life, making it an ideal place to live and work. Additionally, the Swiss enjoy a long life expectancy, and have one of the best work-life balance in the world.
