Five Tops and Flops in Crypto Valley

Photo: Videvo

Author: Manuel Stagars
February 2026

Crypto Valley has experienced several highs and lows since its beginnings in 2013. Some ideas have changed the world, while others have failed miserably. Here's a selection of five successes and five failures from Crypto Valley. What worked, what didn't, and what can we learn from it? Let's start with the successes.

Success 1: Attracting Ethereum as the foundation for decentralized platforms. In 2013, there were no cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, but Ethereum fundamentally changed that. With Ethereum, Zug attracted a flagship project that would likely have failed anywhere else at that time. As one of the earliest projects in the crypto scene, Ethereum laid the groundwork for smart contracts and decentralized applications, making the crypto boom possible in the first place. Switzerland provided the legal framework that allowed such technologies to grow legally. This set global standards.

Success 2: The first city in the world that accepts bitcoin as a means of payment. In 2016, Zug became the world's first municipality to introduce bitcoins for taxes and fees. A small step that normalized what previously sounded crazy, because back then almost no one wanted to embark on the wild adventure that was Bitcoin. Today, payments in cryptocurrencies are almost commonplace, but the city of Zug was a global pioneer.

Success 3: Regulatory leadership. The FINMA guidelines of 2017 were the first clear crypto regulations ever, while other countries, especially the SEC in the USA, were still toying with the idea of ​​banning crypto altogether. FINMA created clarity without stifling innovation, and its guidelines have inspired many other countries. Of course, innovation primarily stems from entrepreneurship, but policymakers and financial market regulators also have to play along, otherwise it won't work. This was a clear success factor in Crypto Valley.

Success 4: The first crytpo banks and hybrid banking models. In August 2019, the world's first crypto banks, SEBA Bank and Sygnum, received Swiss banking licenses. They were the first to offer crypto services within a traditionally regulated banking framework, another incredible pioneering achievement that made Crypto Valley possible. Traditional banks have since incorporated crypto assets into their offerings, for example, the cantonal banks, which offer secure custody of cryptocurrencies in regular bank accounts. This has modernized the Swiss financial center and brought efficiency.

Success 5: Education of blockchain talent. Universities such as the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU), the University of Lucerne, the University of Zurich, and ETH Zurich now offer numerous blockchain courses. HSLU was the pioneer with the first blockchain course in Switzerland. Only when sufficient knowledge is available can companies create jobs and retain talent sustainably. This positive education feedback loop strengthens Switzerland as a tech nation.

Let's have a look at some flops now.

Flop 1: Popping of the ICO bubble 2017/18. Initially celebrated by some as a success, the boom in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) that swept through Crypto Valley in 2017/18 left a bitter aftertaste. Many companies promised investors the moon and raised millions in record time, but very few had a real product. When the bubble burst, a lot of money was lost, and Crypto Valley suffered reputational damage. The community sympathized, but also learned a lesson: Better focus on quality over quantity. The new Swiss crypto regulations, scheduled to come into effect in 2026, are intended to further increase transparency in the sector.

Flop 2: Envion. In 2018, a startup promised mobile mining powered by green energy and raised over 90 million Swiss francs, but without FINMA authorization. FINMA stopped the scam in 2019 and ordered its liquidation. Nevertheless, investors lost a lot of money. Lesson learned: Nothing works without legal certainty and the right license.

Flop 3: Conflicts in the Tezos Foundation (2017/18). Tezos began as a success story in Crypto Valley, raising US$232 million in its ICO. However, internal disputes between the founders and the Tezos Foundation soon surfaced, leading to lengthy delays and lawsuits. Fortunately, Tezos wasn't a complete failure, but the transformation from a flagship project to a publicly aired dispute severely damaged its reputation and also sparked widespread criticism of the foundation models that had previously worked so well in Crypto Valley.

Flop 4: Swiss Real Coin (2018). Swiss Real Coin, a project for tokenizing real estate, was heavily promoted, but ultimately failed due to regulatory hurdles and insufficient investor protection. While the ICO did raise funds, the project dissolved without tokenizing the promised assets. The message: The project may have simply been ahead of its time because today the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) is in fashion again.

Flop 5: "Swiss Finish" and regulatory hurdles. In the early days, Crypto Valley was the only place in the world for crypto entrepreneurs, but today there are many other hubs that often look more attractive. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example, now attract more crypto entrepreneurs than Switzerland. Why? Startups today need a legal team from the outset and have to struggle getting new licenses. Too expensive, too complicated, that's what is called the "Swiss Finish." Some companies and DeFi projects migrated to where the grass is greener, at least for the moment. Lesson: Regulation protects, but it can also be a hindrance.

So what's the bottom line? The successes outweigh the failures, but the flops still hurt. Both have made the sector more robust and future-proof. Today, Crypto Valley is more mature with less hype, more real-world applications like tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) or hybrid banking models. The mix of a pioneering spirit and Swiss caution has proven successful.

If you want to hear the stories behind the highs and lows of Crypto Valley firsthand, check out the interviews with the pioneers themselves at www.cryptovalleypioneers.ch. They talk about triumphs, mistakes, and what they learned from them. Naturally, these stories reveal patterns that apply to other industries as well.