Bitcoin Suisse Moves Half Its Zug Operations Abroad
The Swiss crypto pioneer is keeping its Zug headquarters while shifting support operations overseas
ZUG, Switzerland — Bitcoin Suisse AG, founded in 2013 by Danish entrepreneur Niklas Nikolajsen alongside Andrej Majcen and other partners, is restructuring its global operational footprint. The 11-year-old firm will shift up to half of its headquarters staff to lower-cost jurisdictions while directing its growth strategy toward international wealth management.
The company originally built its core business around fiat-to-crypto brokerage and institutional custody services. It later expanded into crypto-collateralized lending and proof-of-stake validation services, becoming one of the founding financial institutions of Switzerland’s “Crypto Valley.”
Bitcoin Suisse will maintain its corporate headquarters, executive management, and brand name in Zug. The firm was among the earliest commercial enterprises established in the canton, which became an international hub for blockchain development alongside entities like the Ethereum Foundation, which established its headquarters in Zug in 2014.
Its current expansion is aimed at high-net-worth private clients, family offices, and institutional investors. Newly acquired regulatory approvals in Europe, the Middle East, and offshore jurisdictions are supporting the transition from a domestic Swiss cryptocurrency broker into an international asset manager.
Among those approvals is a license under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCAR) framework through Liechtenstein. Bitcoin Suisse also secured digital-asset and investment business licenses in Bermuda and received full regulatory authorization from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market over the summer.
The Liechtenstein MiCAR license allows Bitcoin Suisse to passport its services across all 27 European Economic Area member states under unified regulatory standards. In Abu Dhabi, the company’s expansion provides direct access to Gulf Cooperation Council capital markets, reflecting a broader trend among European crypto institutions seeking dual regulatory footprints in Western Europe and the Middle East.
To reduce structural overhead, Bitcoin Suisse is moving operational support functions out of Switzerland. Up to 60 back-office and administrative positions at the firm’s headquarters in Zug—approximately 50 percent of its local staff—will be relocated to Bratislava, Slovakia, as well as to a planned operational hub in Vietnam.
Employees were informed of the operational shift during a town hall meeting. The final headcount reduction will be established after a mandatory 10-day employee consultation period, with the initial wave of departures expected to take effect before the end of the year.
Group Chief Executive Officer Andrej Majcen said the relocation of support functions is driven by operational cost management rather than financial distress stemming from cryptocurrency market fluctuations. He said the firm retains sufficient capital reserves to navigate market cycles and that administrative and back-office functions can be conducted at significantly lower costs in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia without compromising client services.
Majcen added that Bitcoin Suisse remains open to potential domestic acquisitions within Switzerland to consolidate its local wealth management presence. The company had pursued a Swiss banking license before turning further toward foreign jurisdictions: in 2019, it submitted an application to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to compete directly with specialized digital asset banks like Sygnum and AMINA Bank (formerly Seba Bank), then withdrew the application and chose to scale under self-regulatory organization oversight in Switzerland while pursuing cross-border licensing abroad.
