--- title: Swiss Private Banking Relationship entity: SwissChain Holding SA jurisdiction: Switzerland doc_type: infrastructure status: in_progress last_reviewed: 2026-03-09 owner: TBD evidence_level: public source_urls: [] related_docs: [] --- # MAERKI BAUMANN & CO. AG Swiss Private Bank & Holding Accounts for SwissChain (Regulatory & Banking Relationship Memorandum) ## I. Systemic Role within SwissChain Control Architecture Within SwissChain’s architecture, Maerki Baumann & Co. AG serves as the primary relationship bank and holding bank for SwissChain Holding SA, providing CHF/EUR (and other) corporate accounts used for capital contributions, treasury management and grouplevel cash flows. These accounts receive equity injections and fundraising proceeds, centralise liquidity from operating subsidiaries and are used to fund outbound payments such as operating expenses, professional fees and, when applicable, dividend flows routed to InCore Bank in its role as paying agent for the BX Digitallisted participation shares. Maerki Baumann is not part of the trading or tokenisation stack; instead, it anchors SwissChain in the traditional Swiss privatebanking system, providing a FINMA-supervised banking relationship for the holding and demonstrating to listing venues and counterparties that SwissChain’s core banking is managed by a reputable Zurich private bank that is explicitly active in digital assets. This separation—Maerki Baumann as conservative private bank for the holding, InCore as transaction bank and BX Digital/Actionariat as capitalmarkets stack—supports a robust control architecture and avoids overconcentration on a single provider. ## II. Legal Nature, Regulatory Perimeter and Market Positioning Maerki Baumann & Co. AG is a Zurichbased Swiss private bank, familyowned and independent, founded in 1932, specialising in wealth management and investment advisory for private and institutional clients. The bank holds a Swiss banking licence and, according to its FinSA information brochure and annual reports, is regulated and supervised by FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority. As a licensed bank, it is subject to Swiss banking law, capital and liquidity requirements, AML/CFT regulation and conductofbusiness rules under FinSA/FinSO. Strategically, Maerki Baumann has positioned itself as a bridge between traditional private banking and the crypto/blockchain industry. Since April 2019, it has offered business accounts for blockchain companies and supported initial coin offerings (ICOs) and security token offerings (STOs). In May 2020, following FINMA authorisation, the bank launched trading and custody of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin, as well as ERC20 tokens, supported by a dedicated fiveperson Crypto Desk. The bank explicitly states that its goal is to “build a bridge between traditional private banking and the crypto industry,” offering professional crypto services to younger, techsavvy clients and institutional investors seeking new sources of return. This positioning has led to Maerki Baumann being repeatedly cited as a “bank active in crypto” in industry reports such as the CV VC Top 50 Report. For SwissChain, this means that its primary relationship bank is both a conservative, FINMA-supervised private bank and a recognised early adopter in the digitalasset space, which is important when explaining to regulators and listing committees why the holding’s banking relationships are stable and compatible with the group’s Web3 focus.​ ## III. Crypto / DigitalAsset Strategy and Relevance for SwissChain Maerki Baumann’s publicly documented crypto strategy began with providing business accounts to blockchain companies and supervising ICOs/STOs, then moved to regulated trading and custody of digital assets after receiving FINMA approval in 2020. The bank operates a multilayered security architecture and uses highsecurity facilities in Switzerland for the safekeeping of digital assets, working with specialised partners and brokers for execution. Media coverage notes that Maerki Baumann was among the first Swiss private banks to accept crypto assets and has built a dedicated crypto trading desk to deepen its digitalasset offering. For SwissChain, this background has two concrete benefits: - Bank account onboarding and stability: As a bank already providing business accounts to blockchain and tokenisation projects, Maerki Baumann has an internal risk framework and compliance experience for Web3 business models, reducing the likelihood of account closures or derisking that often affect cryptoadjacent companies at less familiar banks. - Strategic alignment: The bank’s stated aim to bridge traditional and crypto finance mirrors SwissChain’s positioning as a technology holding integrating regulated digitalasset infrastructure with traditional markets, making Maerki Baumann a credible longterm partner when presenting the group’s structure to regulators, investors and listing venues. While SwissChain does not rely on Maerki Baumann for digitalasset trading or custody (these roles are covered by InCore, DFNS, Scrypt and others), the bank’s cryptofriendly stance explains why it is willing to host the holding’s accounts and support capital flows related to a tokenised, BX Digitallisted equity. ## IV. Core Banking Architecture and Use for SwissChain From SwissChain’s perspective, Maerki Baumann provides classic privatebanking corporate services rather than specialised capitalmarkets infrastructure. Key elements include: - Corporate and holding accounts: CHF/EUR (and potentially other currency) accounts in the name of SwissChain Holding SA and related entities, used to receive paidin capital, proceeds from fundraising, and dividends or fees from operating subsidiaries. - Treasury hub: Centralisation of group liquidity, with Maerki Baumann accounts acting as the treasury hub from which SwissChain funds operating expenses, salaries and external providers (including legal counsel, auditors and technology vendors). - Dividend funding for listed equity: When SwissChain declares dividends on the BX Digitallisted participation shares, funds are transferred from Maerki Baumann accounts to InCore Bank in its role as paying agent, which then distributes cash to investors according to the share register and BX Digital mechanics. Technically, the architecture is simple but important: Maerki Baumann sits at the “top of the waterfall” of fiat flows, providing a stable, FINMA-supervised bank account environment for the holding. By separating holdinglevel banking (Maerki Baumann) from transaction banking and market making (InCore) and DLT market infrastructure (BX Digital), SwissChain demonstrates to regulators and investors that it is not overreliant on any single provider and that each function is handled by a specialist institution. ## V. Risk Mitigation Mechanics and Residual Risk Using Maerki Baumann as the holding bank mitigates several structural risks: - Reputational and regulatory comfort: A longestablished, familyowned Swiss private bank with FINMA supervision and audited financials provides a strong signal of stability and governance for the holding’s core banking operations. - Cryptorelated derisking risk: Because Maerki Baumann has explicitly integrated blockchain companies, ICO/STO projects and digitalasset services into its strategy, SwissChain’s Web3 profile is less likely to trigger unexpected account closures than at banks without such a framework. - Operational simplicity: Concentrating holdinglevel accounts with a single, experienced private bank simplifies treasury operations, audit confirmations and regulatory reporting, while allowing capitalmarkets functions to be outsourced to specialised institutions. Residual risks include concentration of holdinglevel banking with a single private bank and the fact that Maerki Baumann, as a smaller institution, may adapt its risk appetite over time. If the bank were to revise its stance on crypto-related clients or on specific jurisdictions, SwissChain could face pressure to adjust account structures or move relationships. Additionally, while Maerki Baumann is FINMA-supervised and financially sound, it does not provide explicit guarantees beyond the Swiss depositorprotection scheme; SwissChain must therefore monitor counterparty risk and maintain the ability to open secondary relationships if needed. These risks are addressed through regular relationship reviews, monitoring of Maerki Baumann’s public communications and financials, and preparation of contingency banking options. ## VI. Integration with SwissChain Stack and BX Digital Listing Path In the BX Digital listing flow, Maerki Baumann’s role is upstream but essential: - Capital inflows: Equity capital and fundraising proceeds are wired into Maerki Baumann accounts of SwissChain Holding SA. These funds form the economic backing for the participation shares that are then tokenised via Aktionariat and listed on BX Digital. - Treasury management: Maerki Baumann accounts act as the treasury engine for group operations, funding OpEx and capex at the holding and, where appropriate, capitalising operating subsidiaries that integrate DFNS, Scrypt, Sumsub, Fiat Republic, Notabene and other partners. - Dividend and distribution flows: When SwissChain decides to distribute dividends or other cash returns on the BXlisted participation shares, the holding initiates payments from Maerki Baumann to InCore Bank (paying agent). InCore then allocates these funds to investors on the basis of the Aktionariat onchain share register and BX Digital records. This integration ensures that all external cash flows to shareholders originate from a FINMA-supervised private bank, while the digitalasset stack (Aktionariat, BX Digital, InCore) handles tokenisation, trading and settlement. For auditors and regulators, this clarifies the separation between traditional banking (Maerki Baumann) and DLTbased capital markets infrastructure, while showing that the two are tightly coordinated for dividends and capital movements. ## VII. Auditability, Supervisory Defensibility and Strategic Implications Maerki Baumann strengthens SwissChain’s audit trail and supervisory narrative at the holding level. As a FINMAregulated bank, it is required to maintain robust internal controls, recordkeeping and reporting practices, and it provides standard bank confirmations and statements for audits of SwissChain’s financial statements. Its documented crypto strategy and FINMAapproved digitalasset services give regulators and listing committees comfort that SwissChain’s primary banking relationship is with an institution that understands and has formally integrated blockchainrelated business into its risk framework. Strategically, positioning Maerki Baumann as the “Swiss privatebanking anchor” of the group allows SwissChain to show that, despite operating a cuttingedge DLT and tokenisation stack, its core banking and treasury are handled by a conservative, wellregulated Zurich private bank with a track record in digital assets. This combination—Maerki Baumann for holdinglevel banking, InCore for transaction banking and market making, BX Digital for DLT trading, Aktionariat for tokenisation—supports SwissChain’s overarching story: a technology holding that integrates regulated digitalasset infrastructure into traditional Swiss banking and capital markets, rather than operating on the fringes of the financial system.