Blockchain Startup Smart Valor Receives Approval To Operate In Switzerland
Blockchain startup Smart Valor has announced that it received approval to operate in the Swiss financial market.
Based in Switzerland’s Crypto Valley, Smart Valor is a company building a decentralized marketplace for tokenized alternative investments. Its network is coordinated by a smart-contract-based governance model, which incentivizes each participant to contribute maximum value to the network. Building on the Swiss legal framework, the company aims to combine privacy and security of a leading offshore banking center with the accessibility and diversity of the blockchain-based open network.
Smart Valor received approval to operate as a financial intermediary and will be supervised for compliance with anti-money laundering rules. Smart Valor will not be regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) but by the local Financial Services Standards Association (VQF), a self-regulatory organization approved by FINMA to check AML compliance.
Smart Valor said the company intends to launch its online platform for alternative investments later this year. It also said it was applying for a banking license in order to expand its offerings to include securities investments, planned for the first half of 2019.
“Pending regulatory approval, the Valor platform will expand its offering to asset-backed tokens, such as equity in blockchain companies, blockchain-related infrastructure projects, real estate, crypto funds, venture capital, and private equity funds,” the company said.
