Switzerland: Crypto-world acquires a new fan

One of the issues within the cryptocurrency sector is regulation, as many different countries have varying attitudes towards the space. There are some countries, such as China, that are attempting to crack down on cryptocurrency in general, while there are other countries such as Malta, which aim to be a hub for blockchain innovation.

As it stands now, the President of the Swiss Confederation, Ueli Maurer has been encouraging of cryptocurrencies.

For those that don’t know, Switzerland has a seven-member Federal Council, and the executive role rotates among the members. The role is now occupied by Ulrich “Ueli” Maurer, on December 5, by an overwhelming majority (201 out of 209 member votes). Maurer is a 68 year-old accountant.

Maurer is the former finance minister, and has been supportive of legislation that seems to understand that blockchain has to be recognized as a potential “game changer” with regards to various sectors.

Maurer has already established his position as a crypto-friendly politician. He has also referred to blockchain and cryptocurrency as a game changer.

However, it not entirely surprising that Maurer is “pro-crypto” if the fact that he used to the finance minister of the country advocating the use of crypto and is evidently open to blockchain tech, is considered. Zug, in Switzerland, has already been dubbed as the “Crypto Valley” which was intended as a play on California’s “Silicon Valley”.

Maurer seemed to aware and happy about the fact that Switzerland is definitely on its way to certainly becoming a destination for blockchain startup This means that competition will be quite pronounced.

He is among those politicians who saw the threat to Switzerland’s leadership in the crypto space. In May, he invited representatives of the Swiss financial regulator Finma, the Swiss National Bank, and the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) to a roundtable discussion on the matter.

The new president has been active on the international scene as well. During the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Buenos Aires last July, Maurer shared his country’s position on cryptocurrencies, emphasizing that digital assets and distributed ledger technologies bring great potential for financial services. At the summit, Switzerland also insisted on a uniform international approach in order to prevent double taxation in the digital economy.