Switzerland And Israel Cooperate On The Regulation Of Cryptocurrencies And Blockchain

Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer recently visited Israel, along with Secretary of State for International Financial Affairs Jorg Gasser, citing their goal of gaining access to Israeli markets to allow Swiss banks to trade there.

Reuters reports that the two countries have now agreed to cooperate in the field of financial technology, cryptocurrency and blockchain regulation after their discussion with the Israeli government.

Switzerland has long been on the path of introducing blockchain innovation, welcoming startups and researchers from all over the world. Zug, a small Alpine town in Switzerland has turned into a blockchain town –  the town, which is now often called the crypto valley. ShapeShift exchange and Ethereum Foundation have headquarters in Zug, along with many other companies.

Despite the favorable regulatory climate in Switzerland, the Central Bank is less active. In July, it was pledged that organizations in the country are trying to stop the flow of companies leaving to other countries, faced with difficulties in opening bank accounts because of the Central Bank’s concerns about the opaque nature of crypto-crowdfunding.

After the government began investigating the possible use of the state crypto currency “e-franc”, the Central Bank rejected the idea, saying that crypto technology is not good enough. However, a new startup called Alprockz is now working on stablecoin based on the Swiss franc.