Proxeus, IBM, Canton Zug, Successfully Register Business Using Blockchain

Blockchain startup Proxeus and several partners including IBM Switzerland, Canton Zug and Swisscom, have joined hands to legally register the very first Swiss company using blockchain technology.

The process was done by combining a digital workflow and Hyperledger Blockchain with the existing IT systems of the bank and commercial registry.

Commenting on the achievement, Swiss notaries and partners to the project Grunder Rechtsanwälte, Kaiser Odermatt & Partner, and Zwicky Windlin & Partner, said the new method not only allowed to “speed-up the registration from a pushcart to a rocket,” it also dramatically facilitated the drafting of legal documents, and allowed to consolidate the various parties in the most effective way.

The event took place as part of the digitalswitzerland challenge, a joint initiative from several of Switzerland’s leading businesses aimed at driving digitalization efforts across the country.

The group said the idea emerged from the realization that an alternative to the current cumbersome, time-consuming and paper-intensive process of business registration needed to be introduced in Switzerland.

By shifting the entire process encompassing the entrepreneur, lawyer, bank, notary and commercial register to a digital workflow and Hyperledger blockchain and by utilizing smart contracts, the key steps can be processed instantly, drastically reducing the amount of time spent toward verification.

“The bank will state that the capital money has indeed been paid; the notary will confirm that the necessary documents have been provided, read over, and approved; and the commercial register does the final check that everything is lawful. If all of the conditions are met, then the filing, which up until that point will have been provisional, will be officially registered with the Commercial Register and Official Gazette of Commerce,” the group explained.

Founded in 2016, Swiss blockchain startup Proxeus has developed what it calls “the WordPress for the blockchain.” The company focuses on enabling developers to easily and conveniently build blockchain applications that are affordable and compatible with current enterprise systems.

“We joined this challenge because it offered a perfect proof of concept for Proxeus,” said Antoine Verdon, co-founder of Proxeus. “The existing system was slow and inefficient. We have proposed a solution that allowed us to radically speed up the registration process by creating a parallel blockchain track, while still producing all the paperwork necessary to document and formally incorporate the company.”

“What we demonstrated today is that without any legislative change, traditional paper-driven, highly iterative processes can be transferred to the blockchain securely and effectively, increasing efficiency and dramatically lowering costs. But incorporating a company is only the first step: by tokenizing company shares and connecting them with crypto-identities, we will be able to automate entire areas of corporate law and financing.”

Proxeus raised US$25 million in February in its initial coin offering before winning the Swiss Fintech Award for “Early Stage Startup of the Year 2018” last month.