company

ABOUT

X8 AG is a global FinTech company, headquartered in Switzerland, focused on regulatory compliant digital payment systems, digital payment services, custody solutions, trading services, issuance of tokens, and white labeling solutions (such as: Blockchain Digital Identity, KYC/AML, Cross-border checks, Wallet, APIs, and multichain payment solutions).

Our expertise is in finance, tech and regulation. As a team of renowned experts in our fields, we are engineering interoperability between the traditional and the decentralized financial landscapes.

We are empowering the future of how the world will transact by building the X8 Global Stablecoin System which is fully regulated in Switzerland.

Compliance with applicable and emerging rules and regulations is not a retrofitting exercise but built in the design of X8 AG and its stablecoins. We believe that compliant stablecoins are the only way to ensure the highest trust for participants in global digital finance and the sustainability of the proposed innovations over time.

We offer maximum digital accessibility and best-in-class safety.

Customers interact with X8 AG through wallets operating on smartphones and desktops. X8 AG guarantees an execution as close as possible to real-time and much lower costs than that of the current payments system costs. In addition, full compliance with the Swiss regulatory framework strengthens the high standards of protection for clients. Moreover, the X8 smart features will guarantee the eligibility of the sender and receiver of the service at all times and protect against non-compliant transfers, even when executing cross-border payments. Furthermore, X8’s multichain approach allows its products and services to be accessed through various blockchain networks simultaneously while providing full Swiss compliance across the entire multichain environment.

X8 AG was established in Zug, Switzerland on 2 December 2017, which launched and executed successfully an ICO on 13 January 2018 by selling a utility token (X8X). The proceeds funded the early development of the company and the X8C GSC (Global Stable Coin), a basket coin. The holders of X8X will be granted privileged access to the basket coin upon launch, under conditions to be derived during the final setup of the X8C GSC. A communication will be made accordingly.

TEAM

Managing Team

Gregor Koželj

Gregor is a Fintech pioneer who combines experience in asset management, razor-sharp investment acumen with his highly advanced technology expertise. He is a globally recognized AI architect.

Simon Hohler

Chief Technology Officer
Simon is an expert in software development, renowned for his deep tech vision. As a dual left and right-brain thinker, his systematic implementations create a spectacular impact. Previously, he held leadership roles as CEO of TrackLegit, Director of Distributed Collective, and at WB Tech.

Marc Blumenfeld

Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer (external).
Marc is a Swiss attorney with over 10 years of experience in the wealth planning, trustee and corporate services business working for independent and bank-owned trustees. As a board member and in-house counsel of different organisations, Marc has also gained relevant experience in the non-profit and sports sector.

Anzehlika Kara.

Interning Digital Media, Marketing and Communication Specialist
Anzhelika is a goal & creativity driven marketing specialist. Educated in Digital Marketing, Business Management, and Digital Sustainability, Business & E-Comm. Anzhelika is highly progress oriented and experienced working with innovation and blockchain technologies in various domains.

Roland Wulz

Chief Executive Officer
Roland is a distinguished leader in banking innovation. At Credit Suisse, he led tech initiatives to enhance outstanding revenues and directed global teams to shape stellar performance across all financial dynamics. His excellence is empowered with digital transformational academic knowledge garnered from Harvard, MIT, and LSE.

Simon Hohler

Chief Technology Officer
Simon is an expert software and IoT platform developer, and deep tech visionary. As both left & right brain thinker, his systematic implementations are spectacularly impactful. He was formerly CEO of TrackLegit, Director of Distributed Collective, and WB Tech.

Marc Blumenfeld

Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer (external).
Marc is a Swiss attorney with over 10 years of experience in the wealth planning, trustee and corporate services business working for independent and bank-owned trustees. As a board member and in-house counsel of different organisations, Marc has also gained relevant experience in the non-profit and sports sector.

Tetiana Akulenko

Office Assistant
Tetiana is a LLM/CAS graduate in International Sports Law at Zurich University. Ph.D. in "International Relations" with a specialty in "International Law" on the topic: "International legal cooperation in the struggle against doping in sports". In addition, Tetiana has years of professional experience in Business Management and law.

Anzehlika Kara.

Interning Digital Media, Marketing and Communication Specialist
Anzhelika is a goal & creativity driven marketing specialist. Educated in Digital Marketing, Business Management, and Digital Sustainability, Business & E-Comm. Anzhelika is highly progress oriented and experienced working with innovation and blockchain technologies in various domains.

Board of Directors

Gregor Koželj

Gregor is a Fintech pioneer who combines experience in asset management, razor-sharp investment acumen with his highly advanced technology expertise. He is a globally recognized AI architect.

Mikkel Thorup

Mikkel is a progressive investment, trading, and FX expert. He has 30 years as an invigorating mobilizer of change and is a board member of traditional and Fintech companies. Mikkel acts as an advisor on several regulated alternative asset funds.

Bror

Bror is an experienced entrepreneur with a strong background in business development and technology, he has played a key role in scaling companies across Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Bror brings deep industry insights and a strategic mindset to help drive innovation and growth.

Gregor Koželj

Gregor is a Fintech pioneer who combines experience in asset management, razor-sharp investment acumen with his highly advanced technology expertise. He is a globally recognized AI architect.

Mikkel Thorup

Mikkel is a progressive investment, trading, and FX expert. He has 30 years as an invigorating mobilizer of change and is a board member of traditional and Fintech companies. Mikkel acts as an advisor on several regulated alternative asset funds.

Dr. Ravi Chikatamarla

Ravi is an advisor and partner to many global Fintech and Crypto start-ups with a focus on operational risk and governance. He was COO Global FX at UBS Investment Bank and currently serves as Global COO at The Aquarius Group.

Brian Kennedy

Brian is a partner at Listing Partners Ltd. and a board member of various companies. He has 40 years of business experience, spanning CEO and CFO in public and private companies in the technology and finance sectors.

Stefan Toffol

Stefan Toffol gives administrative support to small and medium sized companies in several activities holding supervisory and advisory boards functions, in fiduciary, tax and legal matters. Specialized in Management and Marketing, Stefan also is a Swiss fiduciary expert and as licensed Swiss audit expert.

Advisors

Strategic Advisor
(X8 Group Inc)

METI Advisory AG

Legal

PwC

Investments

Force Capital Nordic

Communications

Ignite

TIMELINE of operations & actions

Regulatory & Licencing Regime in Switzerland

The Swiss regulatory framework is one of the most advanced globally when it comes to supporting the development of innovative digital finance products and services.

X8 AG will operate under the Swiss Sandbox in compliance with AMLA and KYC provisions and affiliation to a self-regulatory organization, until it obtains a Swiss Fintech licence.

ICO guidelines

The Swiss Financial market Supervisory Authority FINMA issued the first Guidelines for ICO on 16 February 2018. The Guidelines set out how FINMA intends to apply financial market legislation in handling enquiries from ICO organisers. The guidelines also define the information FINMA requires to deal with such enquiries and the principles upon which it will base its responses, creating clarity for market participants.

FINMA issued stable coin guidelines on 11 September 2019. The Guidelines took the form of a supplement to the ICO Guidelines issued on 16 February 2018. In the supplement, FINMA explains that the treatment of ‘stable coins’ under supervisory law follows the existing approach taken to blockchain-based tokens: the focus is on the economic function and the purpose of a token (‘substance over form’). In ruling on concrete projects, FINMA will follow the proven principle of “same risks, same rules” as well as the specific features of each case. The authority further explains that ‘stable coins’ can vary greatly and the requirements under supervisory law may differ depending on which assets (e.g. currencies, commodities, real estate or securities) the ‘stable coin’ is backed by and the legal rights of its holders. Money laundering, securities trading, banking, fund management and financial infrastructure regulation can all be of relevance.

SRO regime

Switzerland introduced the Federal Act on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing on 10 October 1997. The Act sets out responsibilities for the supervision of financial intermediaries and introduced the category of a self-regulatory organisation (SRO), which must be recognised by FINMA. SROs must issue regulations that specify the duties of diligence of their affiliated financial intermediaries and stipulate how these duties must be fulfilled. In particular, they shall stipulate the requirements for the affiliation and exclusion of financial intermediaries, how compliance is monitored and the appropriate penalties.

Sandbox provisions

On 17 March 2016, FINMA introduced a licence exempt area (sandbox) for financial innovators. The sandbox regime was then updated on 1 September 2017 and 1 January 2019. Under the sandbox regime, Fintech companies can accept public deposits without a licence up to a limit of CHF 1 million, provided that they are not invested and do not bear interest, even if such deposits come from more than 20 depositors. Depositors must be informed in advance that the sandbox is not subject to FINMA supervision and that the deposits are not covered by the deposit protection scheme. Further, deposits may be held in settlement accounts up to 60 days.

Fintech license

On January 1st, 2019 a new regulatory license category – informally called the “fintech license” or “banking license light” – was introduced into Swiss law with the aim of facilitating or enabling novel business models in the financial marketplace. Its introduction shall give Switzerland an edge in terms of competitiveness of its Fintech regulatory framework internationally. Under this new regime, license holders are allowed to accept deposits from the public on a professional basis – an activity previously limited to banks – subject to a deposit ceiling of CHF 100 million. However, they are precluded from investing those deposits, paying interests on them or otherwise conducting traditional commercial banking business. On the other hand, they profit from significantly relaxed regulatory requirements when compared to those applicable to holders of a banking license.