The chairman of Switzerland’s stock exchange SIX Romeo Lacher thinks there are “a lot of upsides” to releasing a crypto version of the Swiss franc.
Speaking to the Financial Times Sunday, Feb. 25, Lacher said the organization would be “very supportive” of such an initiative, adding that he “doesn’t like cash.”
“An e-franc under the control of the central bank would create a lot of synergies - so it would be good for the economy,” he said.
Switzerland has adopted an increasingly positive narrative in cryptocurrency and Blockchain integration at national level, despite the reluctance of its banking sphere to endorse Bitcoin itself.
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) continued this tone, saying there was “no need” for a so-called “e-franc” at present, following Lacher’s comments.
During January’s World Economic Forum in Davos, SNB chairman Thomas Jordan argued that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies should be regulated similarly to legacy assets and subject to strict controls.
“You can’t, on the one hand, heavily restrict cash and on the other hand permit fully anonymous instruments that to a great extent can be used for all manner of transactions,” he decided.
Lacher meanwhile shares caution around the future of ICOs in particular.
“My worry is that until recently, the value of cryptocurrencies has only been in one direction: up,” he continued. “After the first ICO to collapse, there will be burnt fingers.”
Switzerland nonetheless continues to be the prime incubator for ICO funds, contributing the largest amount of cash relative to the number of ICOs launched of any country in the world, new data reports.