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Why the Swiss job market is banking on blockchain

News
Posting date: 05 August 2020

Switzerland’s strong reputation as bankers, chocolatiers and watchmakers didn’t come about by chance. Their dominance in these markets is a result of a focus on exceptional service and high value products which has earnt them the second highest GDP per capita worldwide. Emerging industries such as blockchain are benefiting from Switzerland’s prominence in the global marketplace and are gaining noticeable momentum. This reputation has enabled the nation’s Crypto Valley to establish itself as blockchain hotspot, attracting 100 new businesses in 2019 and creating over 1,000 jobs. Here are four reasons why the Swiss job market is banking on blockchain.

 

Blockchain is the answer to our security issues

Bitcoin made its entrance in 2008 and questions began flying as to whether the digital currency could be trusted. Enter blockchain, which provided the security to users by recording chains of information about the transaction - but now fast forward to the year 2020 and a new security issue has emerged. Covid-19 has exposed a growing threat to data security, and yet again blockchain technology has stepped up to the mark and exposed a growing demand for blockchain developers and site reliability engineers among other IT professionals. This illustrates how the technology will help protect the global economy and may even be used to prevent crises in the future.

 

A growing digital token market

In 2017, a surge in initial coin offerings (ICOs) led to the hub of token-funded projects in Zug being named Switzerland’s Crypto Valley. An ICO is the most effective way for start-ups to generate investments and for this reason they’re commonly thought of as a source of crowdfunding.

While fintech start-ups and other new businesses rely on this method for raising capital, the smart contracts rely on blockchain technology to provide the digital tokens.

 

Despite the amount of published ICOs flattening after the peak in 2017, there remains a steady number of launches each year and Switzerland just misses out on a medal in the worldwide rankings for capital raised from ICOs, coming in fourth place with an impressive total of $2 billion. Technology professionals can expect their blockchain skills to remain in high demand as Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) and Security Token Offerings (STOs) steal a share of the digital token market.

 

A government who is backing blockchain

Switzerland’s National Council have held back from applying tax laws to digital tokens which is cause for celebration for the cryptocurrency market and in turn for blockchain technology. While the market remains in its infancy, the government will not apply capital gains tax legislation on any earnings and in doing so hopes to encourage more investments. Though this exemption can’t be expected to continue well into the future, it gives ample time for blockchain to put down roots in Swiss soil and establish a strong job market.

 

In addition, the National Council have announced a legislative package, passing several new laws that are designed to eliminate the legal obstacles that apply to blockchain and distributed ledger technology. This will attract more blockchain start-ups to Switzerland, and professionals with expertise in this field will reap the benefits as the nation asserts its dominance in the global blockchain market.

 

Working remotely

Shortly after the turn of the decade, workplaces around the world had to solve the puzzle of continuing business operations whilst observing social distancing. Thankfully, for companies in the blockchain space, working out the logistics was far easier compared to other industries and moving their teams online has revealed some added benefits such as increased productivity. Now the challenge lies with product managers, technical business analysts and their IT colleagues to master the art of maximising productivity when working from home.

 

Since the outbreak of coronavirus, Blockchain has proved itself to be an essential and resilient industry, and the Swiss job market’s confidence in the technology will continue to grow as our world continues on the path to digitalisation.

 

Apply for a role with Swisslinx today

Are you banking on blockchain? Our consultants at Swisslinx understand the importance of keeping a keen eye on technology drivers and trends such as blockchain. This deep understanding of the industry enables them to identify the top talent and place these candidates in organisations at every point of the scale – from boutique start-ups to global corporations. View our vacancies in financial services or explore our digital and technology jobs to start your application.

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