ZURICH / LAS VEGAS
Swiss startup relai just launched a public funding round to raise capital. Interested investors can chip in between 100-50.000 CHF. The public crowdfunding takes place on the platform Crowdcube at a 40 Million CHF company valuation.
BitcoinNews got the next-gen manager on a call to ask him about the latest news on bitcoin, Switzerland and of course, Relai.
Not long ago, Julian Liniger, now ceo and co-founder of Relai was just a student of business administration. When he came across Bitcoin, he was fascinated. Together with his business partner Adem Bilican he started Relai, an app that makes it easy to buy and sell bitcoin.
In his latest interview with BitcoinNews, Liniger reveals how the volumes on Relai are spiking, what features will be coming next and what he thinks about the Bitcoin adoption plans of Swiss town Lugano.
There is no doubt, the combo of Bitcoin and Switzerland is one of the most promising. But where do people actually buy bitcoin in Switzerland?
Relai is just 3 years old but already a household brand among bitcoiners and especially among bitcoiners from Switzerland. With it’s headquarters in Zurich, Relai is grew fast from a micro-team to over a dozen people eager to push bitcoin adoption into the mainstream.
For Liniger Bitcoin is a phenomenon that gained momentum mostly among younger generations as it is money for the future. “In the next 10 to 20 years, the majority of assets in the world will be controlled and invested by younger generations.” he explained in his interview with BitcoinNews.
However, Relai also speaks to that generation with the highest purchasing power. New features that are being rolled out are the option for users to purchase higher amounts of bitcoin through the App. Relai has emancipated and gained its own broker license. Up until recently a third party broker was used to provide the liquidity. With it’s own license, the company has more flexibility but also more responsibility. Is Bitcoin becoming corporate slowly?
In the case of Relai, values of privacy and financial sovereignty are still intact. The app is built on the promise to purchase Bitcoin without additional KYC verification and easy withdrawals directly to the users own Bitcoin wallet. This is possible due to the innovative Swiss Bitcoin regulation that allows financial service providers to build products and services, customers can truly enjoy.
Will Switzerland make Bitcoin Reserve Asset
The bitcoin business friendly environment in Switzerland has been a good reason to re-locate for many years now. With the recent move of Lugano Mayor Michele Foletti to adopt Bitcoin, Switzerland has just got another bitcoin friendly town. Liniger is almost as bullish on his beloved Switzerland as he’s bullish on Bitcoin though he doesn’t expect Bitcoin to become legal tender any time soon. True legal tender adoption would need to be decided the Swiss federal government which is unlikely to happen in his opinion.
Surprise: The Relai Crowdfunding is not an ICO
You could expect a company like Relai would simply issue a token to raise more funding. A common practice that helped brands such as Crypto dot com and Binance raise Millions. Relai us more of a tradtional startup and allows investors to actually hold shares in Relai.
The FAQ on the crowdfunding website reads:
“For any Do I get shares in the company?
Yes, by taking part in our crowdfunding, investors get common Relai shares at a CHF 40 million company valuation (e.g. if you invest CHF 4,000 you get 0.01% of the company).
Who can take part in the crowdfunding campaign?
To invest on Crowdcube, you need to be over 18 years old and legally entitled to invest. You’ll also need to be a resident of a country where you may legally receive financial promotions of the nature provided. If you’re not sure whether you can invest through Crowdcube in your country, you should seek legal advice before making an account.”
