Invest1 publisher2 min readPublished
Bitcoin Suisse to cut up to half its Swiss jobs as it shifts back-office and dev roles abroad
The Zug firm will cut up to 60 of about 120 Swiss jobs, mostly back office, admin and software, and move that work to Bratislava or Vietnam while group CEO Andrej Majcen says it still has "a substantial cushion".
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- Bitcoin Suisse plans to eliminate as many as 60 of its roughly 120 Swiss jobs, mostly back-office, administrative and software development roles, with the final figure set by a consultation running to September 20.
- The eliminated work moves to Bratislava or Vietnam, where the firm intends to build a new site over the coming years, mainly because those services cost significantly less there, according to Cryptopolitan.
- Zug, where Niklas Nikolajsen founded the firm in 2013, remains the headquarters, and the company says the Bitcoin Suisse name is not changing.
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Why it matters
- cost Swiss support staff carry the transition, and the gap between Zug wages and Bratislava or Vietnam wages is what funds the international build.
- constraint Any adviser or relationship-manager hiring for the family-office push has to happen at Swiss pay, because the cheap sites are taking engineering and administration.
- decision The consultation makes 60 a ceiling the company set, and the negotiated figure decides how much of the software function actually leaves Zug.
- capability With Liechtenstein, Bermudian and Abu Dhabi permissions in hand, the group can sell into those markets while its Swiss headcount falls.
Bitcoin Suisse holds about $3.7bn of client crypto and employs roughly 120 people in Switzerland [9][1]. That is close to $31m of custodied assets a head, and about $62m if 60 of them go [2]. The custody figure is group-wide and the headcount is Swiss only, so the ratio is rough.
The cuts fall on back-office, administrative and software development work [2]. Switzerland will stay the base for the "customer-facing business," which the company lists as client advisory, relationship management, and wealth and asset management for private and institutional clients [11]. So the roughly 60 Swiss roles that survive are the client-facing half [6]. Those are the people meant to win wealthy private clients, family offices, asset managers and institutional investors for services that reach beyond crypto [12].
Group CEO Andrej Majcen said the company has "a substantial cushion", and he framed the changes as a strategic investment in international growth instead of a response to the market slump [8]. The firm also points to more efficient working methods and new technology, including artificial intelligence, as reasons it needs fewer people [7]. Cryptopolitan does not report an expected saving, or how the 60 roles divide between Bratislava and Vietnam [21].
Bitcoin Suisse will be recruiting advisers into a Swiss market where four larger financial firms are shedding staff. UBS's roughly 3,000 Swiss cuts, Helvetia Baloise's up-to-1,200 post-merger reduction, Raiffeisen Switzerland's 180 and Swiss Life's 600 add to 4,980 announced roles [3]. Bitcoin Suisse's 60 is 2% of the UBS number alone [4].
In my view this is a wage-cost trade with a wealth-management label attached. Engineering, admin and back office go where they cost less [3], and the staff who sit in front of clients stay in Switzerland [11]. The counter-thesis is that the permissions came first. The group has already secured a Liechtenstein MiCAR licence, Bermudian digital asset and investment licences, and an Abu Dhabi FSRA permission in July [13][14][15], which is distribution built in three jurisdictions outside Switzerland [5] that it now has to staff. The sequencing is awkward either way. The first layoffs take effect before the end of 2026 [6], while the new offshore site is a project for the coming years [3]. Severance and duplicated running costs arrive ahead of the saving.
What to watch
- The agreed number after the consultation closes, and how the relocated roles split between Bratislava and Vietnam.
- When the new offshore site actually opens, and whether it is one location or two.
- Whether further licences follow the Abu Dhabi permission.