Deutsche Boerse makes a majority investment in Swiss fintech startup Crypto Finance

29.06.2021 10:55, Guillaume Tinsel

German stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse announced buying a two-thirds stake in Swiss fintech Crypto Finance to expand its offering for digital assets. The partnership allows both parties to broaden their existing customer base and to grow the product and service offering in the digital asset space. We interviewed Crypto Finance CEO and Founder Jan Brzezek to learn more about the use of these funds, his entrepreneurial path, and the origin of Crypto Finance.

Zug-based startup Crypto Finance, with a fully licensed securities firm, offers 24/7 trading and brokerage of more than 200 digital assets in combination with a highly secure in-house custody solution. With connectivity to a multitude of digital asset venues worldwide, Crypto Finance bridges the problem of liquidity fragmentation in the market. Professional and institutional clients can directly invest in digital assets, without having to set up their own infrastructure and operational frameworks. Furthermore, Crypto Finance enables clients to store a wide range of digital assets securely with custody solutions, as well as offering tokenization and blockchain infrastructure services. An asset management unit under FINMA regulation also enables investor access to the digital asset class via an active and rule-based alternative investment fund offering.

As part of Deutsche Börse Group, Crypto Finance will be able to further scale the business and expand the range of digital asset services. Deutsche Börse also intends to make Crypto Finance’s offering easily accessible for participants via its established platforms. The goal is to establish a neutral, transparent, and highly scalable digital asset ecosystem under European regulation.

According to Reuters, Deutsche Boerse declined to provide details on the purchase price but said it was somewhat more than 100 million Swiss francs (USD108.68 million). The investment unlocks the mutual potential to better serve existing and future customers. With its investment in a moderate three-digit CHF million range, Deutsche Börse will hold a two-thirds majority in the 2017-founded fintech that has received multiple awards. The remaining shares stay with existing investors, including CEO and founder Jan Brzezek, who will continue to lead and manage the business. The parties expect to close the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2021, following regulatory approvals. Further terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Jan, how will the investment from Deutsche Boerse help achieve your vision?
It is clear that we have built something truly incredible at the Crypto Finance Group, which has had a tremendous impact on our clients and on society at large. But it is also clear that we have only scratched the surface. This commitment from Deutsche Börse will help us build a trusted and fully regulated digital asset ecosystem for institutional investors – this is a big goal, and we see the demand growing to fill it across our network of clients.

You also participated in Venture Leaders Fintech in 2019  and were selected on the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award from 2018 to 2020. How did it leverage your fundraising strategy? 
The support and exposure from Venture Leaders Fintech and the ongoing recognition as a TOP 100 Swiss Startup with the awards have helped us to be visible beyond our own client networks. This has opened doors, together with developments in our service offering and regulatory position, both with investors and clients. This is apparent when you look at how our Board Members have evolved, and how our business has grown into Europe and across Asia.

When, and what, was your inspiration to found Crypto Finance?
JB: In 2017, I founded Crypto Finance with the idea that institutional and professional clients should be able to enter the digital asset market easily and effortlessly. This was not going to be initiated from within the traditional finance sector, and the freedom of taking this idea into a start-up for crypto-asset services, with the support of a vibrant blockchain and fintech ecosystem in Switzerland, inspired us. We are building services and technology relentlessly that make it easy to invest, trade, and store digital assets in a safe, reliable manner. The market moves in recent months and the increased regulatory attention is making this even more apparent for both retail and institutional market participants.

What is your advice for the potential fintech entrepreneurs launching companies in Switzerland today? 
JB: It takes conviction about an idea, as well as hard work, to create and build towards your goals. And at this phase, it also takes endurance and the curiosity to understand that even a major milestone points to new potential and more work ahead that can be very inspiring. 

You can see this in our journey so far: from connecting the first banks to our trading platform and launching our exciting funds, we have built a secure storage infrastructure and state-of-the-art tokenization. Today we are becoming thought leaders in our space, and we are very proud of what we have achieved. Our hard work and ability to build strong partnerships with investors has made us an enabler for digital assets for all institutional and professional clients, and it is changing the shape of the financial industry forever.