Invest Independently confirmed 4 publishers 3 min read Published Sep 13, 2026, 9:18 PM PDT Updated Sep 14, 2026, 3:17 AM PDT

Bitcoin Suisse sends up to 60 of its 120 Swiss roles to Bratislava and Vietnam

Andrej Majcen told Finews that cost was the reason, and the work leaving Switzerland is back office, administration and software development. Client teams stay in Zug, where headcount could fall to about 60.

The Investor · Invest desk

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What happened

Bitcoin Suisse plans to relocate as many as 60 of about 120 Swiss positions, roughly half its domestic headcount, mainly in back-office, administrative and software development functions.
Client-facing teams are expected to remain in Switzerland, and Zug is to stay the group headquarters.
The company is closing its IT development office in Copenhagen, while its offices in Liechtenstein, Abu Dhabi and Bermuda are excluded from the announced reductions.
Staff were told at a town-hall meeting, a consultation period runs until 20 September 2026, and the exact number of Swiss roles affected will be settled after it.

Why it matters

What it costs cost The disclosed cost of the plan falls on Swiss staff, up to 60 of them, and the first departures land within about 14 weeks of the consultation closing.
What it limits constraint With software development among the functions leaving, the Swiss entity keeps the clients and the licences while the capacity to build product sits in Bratislava and a site Vietnam does not have yet.
Who's exposed exposure Crowdfund Insider puts the risk on retention: the Swiss client book has to hold while the people who service it are hired somewhere else.
What it sets up precedent If Crowdfund Insider is right that this is a pattern among digital asset firms, the next Zug firm to move staff offshore while keeping its Swiss licence has a precedent.

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Confirmed3 publishers

Switzerland is 60% of this company's payroll today, about 120 of roughly 200 employees ^[13]^[21]. Move 60 roles out and it is 30%, with non-Swiss headcount rising from 80 to 140, an increase of 75% ^[1]^[25].

Cost is the reason on the record ^[4]. Group CEO and co-founder Andrej Majcen told Finews that the same functions can be delivered at substantially lower expense from Bratislava, where Bitcoin Suisse already runs a hub, and from Vietnam, where it intends to build a new site over the coming years ^[3]. Neither report includes a figure for the saving. So the only quantified term in the plan is the headcount, and one of the two destinations is still an intention.

Start with where the licences sit. Bitcoin Suisse holds a Markets in Crypto-Assets authorization for its Liechtenstein unit, licences in Bermuda and full approval in Abu Dhabi, granted to its Middle East subsidiary in July ^[5]^[6]. Crowdfund Insider reports that those three offices sit outside the announced reductions ^[19]. The reports do not connect the licences to the relocation, and they name no Swiss regulatory cost. The licences line up with the client plan: in June the company said it was targeting institutional clients, family offices, asset managers and high-net-worth individuals ^[10], and leadership describes the reorganisation as a shift from a largely Swiss crypto specialist toward an international wealth and asset-management platform ^[9].

Two explanations for the same 60 sit in the announcement. Bitcoin Suisse rejects the idea that the reorganisation is a reaction to a weak crypto market, and Majcen said the firm has sufficient reserves to weather the current cycle and that the decision is about investing in growth and building a global brand ^[7]. Officials also point to more efficient processes and new technology, including artificial intelligence, as factors that change how many people certain functions require ^[20]. Those imply different endings. Relocation keeps the group near 200 and moves the wage bill to the new hubs ^[17]. On the efficiency explanation, some of the 60 are not refilled anywhere.

Then there is the acquisition line. Majcen said Switzerland remains an attractive financial centre and that the company wants to keep growing there, including through possible acquisitions ^[14]. A Zug operation of about 60 people ^[17] buying a Swiss competitor would be buying books and relationships. The group custodians more than $3 billion in digital assets ^[16], which against 120 Swiss staff is more than $25 million a head and against 60 is more than $50 million ^[22].

I would expect the final number to come in under the 60 ceiling, because a ceiling is what a company publishes when it wants room, and the exact figure is settled only after the consultation ^[11]. Two outcomes would prove that wrong. A final 60 matched by hiring in Bratislava makes this straight labour arbitrage; a fall in the worldwide 200 makes it a reduction with a relocation label.

What to watch

The number Bitcoin Suisse publishes once the consultation closes, measured against the 60 ceiling it has put in public.
Whether worldwide headcount holds near 200 as Swiss roles leave, or drops with them.
Any Swiss acquisition, which would test Majcen's statement that the firm wants to keep growing in Switzerland.

Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.

Clarity's read

What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.

Reality

Evidence52
Adoption38
Hype gap+18
Incentives72
Confidence62

Perspective Coverage

4 publishers

Builder: Builder 17%
Operator: Operator 39%
Investor: Investor 44%

Why these scores

Claim ledger

Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.

[1]
Under the plan, as many as 60 Swiss positions, about half the domestic headcount, could be relocated, mainly in back-office, administrative, and software development functions.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[2]
Cointelegraph, citing a Friday report from Swiss financial publication Finews, said the restructuring could affect up to 60 of the company's 120 Swiss positions, primarily in back-office and administrative roles.
Reported Supported Source: Cointelegraph, citing FinewsView cited source
[3]
Majcen told Finews that the same functions can be delivered at substantially lower expense from Bratislava, where the company already maintains a hub, and from Vietnam, where it intends to build a new site over the coming years.
Reported Supported Source: Andrej Majcen, group CEO and co-founder, speaking to FinewsView cited source
[4]
Cost is the principal operational reason given for moving support work.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[5]
Recent regulatory steps include a Markets in Crypto-Assets authorization for its Liechtenstein unit, licenses in Bermuda, and full approval in Abu Dhabi.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[6]
Bitcoin Suisse's Middle East subsidiary received full regulatory approval in Abu Dhabi in July.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[7]
The company rejects the idea that the reorganization is a reaction to a weak crypto market; Majcen has said Bitcoin Suisse has sufficient reserves to weather the current cycle and that the decision is about investing in growth and building a global brand.
Reported Supported Source: Andrej MajcenView cited source
[8]
Client-facing teams are expected to remain in Switzerland, and Zug is to stay the group headquarters.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[9]
Leadership describes the change as part of a deliberate shift from a largely Swiss crypto specialist toward an international wealth and asset-management platform, with services going beyond trading, custody, staking, and lending.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[10]
In June, the company said it was expanding beyond its Swiss market, targeting institutional clients, family offices, asset managers and high-net-worth individuals as part of its evolution toward a global wealth management platform.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[11]
Staff were informed at a town-hall meeting; a consultation period runs until 20 September 2026, and the exact number of Swiss roles affected will be settled after that process.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[12]
Initial departures are expected before the end of the year.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[13]
Bitcoin Suisse, founded in 2013 and based in Zug, currently employs about 120 people in Switzerland and roughly 200 worldwide.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[14]
Majcen has stressed that Switzerland remains an attractive financial center and that the company wants to keep growing there, including through possible acquisitions.
Reported Supported Source: Andrej MajcenView cited source
[15]
The firm is also shutting its IT development office in Copenhagen.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[16]
The group custodians more than $3 billion in digital assets.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[17]
If the upper range of the plan is implemented, the Swiss operation would shrink to around 60 people while international hubs absorb software and support work.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[18]
Crowdfund Insider wrote that the episode illustrates a broader pattern among digital asset firms: concentrating regulated, client-facing activity in established financial centers while placing scalable, cost-sensitive work in lower-cost locations.
Reported Supported Source: Crowdfund InsiderView cited source
[19]
Existing offices in Liechtenstein, Abu Dhabi, and Bermuda are not part of the announced reductions.
Reported Supported Source: Crowdfund InsiderView cited source
[20]
Officials also point to more efficient processes and new technology, including artificial intelligence, as factors that change how many people certain functions require.
Reported SupportedView cited source
[21]
Switzerland accounts for 60% of group headcount today, and would account for 30% if all 60 roles move.
Derived Supported
[22]
Custodied assets per Swiss employee are more than $25 million today and would be more than $50 million with 60 Swiss staff.
Derived Supported
[23]
About 14 weeks separate the 20 September 2026 close of consultation from the year end by which initial departures are expected.
Derived Supported
[24]
Crowdfund Insider wrote that whether the strategy succeeds will depend on how well Bitcoin Suisse retains Swiss client relationships while building capacity abroad.
Reported Insufficient Source: Crowdfund InsiderView cited source
[25]
Non-Swiss headcount is about 80 today and would be about 140 if all 60 roles are refilled abroad, an increase of 75%.
Derived Insufficient

Sources

4 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.

cointelegraph.com
1 article · September 11, 2026
Bitcoin Suisse to shift up to half of Swiss jobs abroad
crowdfundinsider.com
1 article · September 13, 2026
Switzerland’s Bitcoin Suisse to Shift Up to Half of Swiss Jobs to Bratislava, Slovakia and Vietnam
cryptobriefing.com
1 article · September 14, 2026
Bitcoin Suisse to cut up to half its Swiss jobs in overseas shift
decrypt.co
1 article · September 14, 2026
Bitcoin Suisse to Cut Up to Half Its Swiss Jobs in Overseas Shift

Clarity analysis

How the coverage leans and what the record actually supports. Read the methodology

Perspective Coverage

How much of the coverage speaks to builders, operators and investors. It measures emphasis, not whether the story is right.

Builder17%

The engineering content is thin. Crowdfund Insider is the only account that says software development is in scope, and it and Crypto Briefing are the only ones that mention the Copenhagen IT office closing; Cointelegraph and Decrypt describe the moving work as back office and administration. Nobody says what the Bratislava hub already runs or what the Vietnam site would be built to do. Crypto Briefing carries the one piece of reasoning a builder can use: Switzerland is among the most expensive places in the world to employ developers, and Bratislava has become a nearshoring destination for European financial firms. The AI line appears once, in Crowdfund Insider, attributed to unnamed officials and without a single function named.

Operator39%

The sequence is the useful part. Staff heard it at a Friday town hall, consultation runs to 20 September 2026, and the final Swiss number is set after that; Decrypt says 10 days, which from the 11 September announcement is the same window. First departures come before year end, so about 14 weeks separate the two dates. Client-facing teams and the Zug headquarters stay, and Crowdfund Insider adds that the Liechtenstein, Abu Dhabi and Bermuda offices are outside the cuts. No account says who will run reconciliation, key handling and incident response for more than $3 billion in custody once those functions move to Bratislava and, later, to a Vietnam site that does not exist yet.

Investor44%

Every number in this story comes from one Finews interview with the group CEO, and the four accounts restate it rather than test it. Cost is the stated driver, reserves are said to cover the cycle, and no story gives the expected saving, the revenue base or the margin the move is meant to protect. The checkable part is the licensing: MiCA in Liechtenstein, digital-asset and investment licences in Bermuda, full Abu Dhabi approval in July. Crypto Briefing alone names who else wants those clients, Sygnum and Seba Bank in Switzerland, Julius Baer from private banking, and firms in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. At the top of the plan, Switzerland goes from 60% of group headcount to 30%, with custodied assets per Swiss employee above $50 million.

Reality

Evidence, adoption, hype gap, incentives and confidence, each read independently from the current record on the scale shown beneath it. How these are measured.

Evidence52: 0100
One interview, four retellings
Cointelegraph credits a Friday report from Finews, and the other three are working from the same interview with Andrej Majcen. The headcount, the destinations, the cost rationale and the consultation date are all the company's account of itself; no outlet independently corroborates them. The licences are the exception: Liechtenstein, Bermuda and Abu Dhabi are matters of record with regulators, and three of the four stories describe them consistently.
Adoption38: 0100
Licences done, the cuts pending
The licences are in hand and the Copenhagen IT office is closing. The Swiss job moves are a range, not a decision. Consultation was still running to 20 September 2026 and the company said the exact number follows it, with first departures before year end. The Bratislava hub exists; the Vietnam site is described as something to build over the coming years.
Hype gap+18: −100 understated0 aligned+100 overstated
A ceiling reported as a count
Three of the four headlines turn an upper bound into an action, and Decrypt and Crypto Briefing use "cut" for a figure the company says it will only finalise after consultation. The generalisation runs ahead of the evidence too: both Crowdfund Insider and Crypto Briefing extend one 200-person firm's plan into an industry-wide pattern without a second company's numbers. On the other side, the accounts are restrained about the AI element and none of them claims a saving that has not been quantified.
Incentives72: 0100
The framing belongs to the CEO
Majcen gave one interview and set the terms of every account that followed: growth not retrenchment, reserves ample, Zug still headquarters, the name unchanged. A founder-CEO announcing that half a domestic workforce may move has an obvious interest in the growth reading, and the alternative reading, that a crypto services firm is cutting Swiss cost during a downturn, is dismissed rather than examined. The trade outlets each carry the denial; none puts a competing source next to it.
Confidence62: 0100
Firm on the plan, silent on effects
The dates, destinations, headcount and licences line up across four independent outlets. The plan itself can be reported with some confidence. What the plan does to costs, clients or service quality is untested, and one derived figure here, the growth in non-Swiss headcount, holds only if relocated roles are recreated one-for-one abroad, which nobody has said.

Topics and entities

Topics

Swiss financial centre
Crypto wealth management
Digital Asset Licensing and Supervision
Offshoring and nearshoring
Institutional Crypto Custody