Bitmain-backed crypto startup Matrixport opens new office in Zurich

Matrixport, a Singapore-based crypto startup, has expanding its global footprint with the opening up of its office in Zurich, Switzerland for its European operations, Swissinfo.ch reported.

Founded in February 2019, Matrixport is spearheaded by former Bitmain co-founders Jihan Wu and John Ge. Backed by Bitmain, the company will operate as a standalone company. It already has offices in China and Hong Kong and now intends to expand its crypto trading, lending and custody services to the common currency area through its newly opened office in Zurich.

As per the report, Matrixport has been registered under the name ‘Chaintech’ in Switzerland. It is a member of QVF, a self-regulatory body under the supervision of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.

Initially, the company’s payment services will not be available in Europe. The company said that it might apply for a Swiss banking license in the future.

Speaking to the news portal, Hui Wang, Chief Operations Officer in Switzerland, said that Matrixport is planning to hire up to 10 employees within the next two years.

“We will start on a modest scale initially as we establish our name in Europe and establish a pool of clients,” she said. “We don’t intend to act as a channel for our Singapore HQ, simply referring clients to Asia. We will service our European clients from Switzerland.”

The opening of Matrixport’s Zurich office comes at a time when Bitmain is scaling down its operations in Switzerland. The bitcoin mining giant had opened its own office in Zurich in December 2017 as part of its efforts to expand into Europe. However, following the crypto winter seen late last year and in early 2019, the company underwent some major leadership changes and put its plans to list on the Hong Kong stock market on hold.

Bitmain had previously said that it will restart the listing application work at an appropriate time in the future.

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