Blockchain Valley Ventures, Accelerator And Venture Capital Firm For Blockchain Businesses, Launches With “Hybrid” Investment Model

Zug, Switzerland - May 10, 2024 — Blockchain Valley Ventures (BVV), a new accelerator and venture capital firm offering investment, financing, and advisory services for blockchain-enabled businesses, has launched today. The firm will focus on investments in, and the incubation and development of, business ventures in a number of industries that are utilizing blockchain technology to facilitate growth and innovation. Based in Switzerland’s Crypto Valley in Zug, the firm boasts Heinrich Zetlmayer, former Vice President and Country Leader of IBM Global Business Services in Switzerland; Oliver Bussmann, former UBS and SAP Group CIO; and Lykke Corp. as Partners.

BVV boasts a broad array of services, including capital investments, through its own funds and investment vehicles, such as the “Blockchain Investment Opportunities Note” in cooperation with Vicenda Asset Management AG, a global investment boutique with a focus on private debt investing. It also offers business, financial, ICO, and marketing support until projects have critical size and operate independently, as well as assistance in token technology design and creation, and implementation of Lykke’s Open Source Technology, in collaboration with Lykke Corporation, a global marketplace for the free exchange of financial assets.

BVV’s strategy for funding new businesses is a hybrid of two different forms of financing, the traditional venture capital model and the newer Initial Coin Offering (ICO) model. The “Hybrid Model” of investing is designed to optimize not only the capital-raising of BVV portfolio companies but to serve as a key tool in accelerating their growth and business development, offering significant benefits compared to more conventional investment mechanisms. As a pioneer and advocate of this hybrid model, BVV is uniquely positioned to offer support on all fronts for businesses at any stage of development and with various needs.

BVV, supported by Lykke Corporation, will draw on the experience of its diverse team to offer portfolio companies assistance and advice in launching and scaling blockchain-enabled businesses. BVV’s collaboration with its partner companies will position the firm as an integral part of their respective business models and is intended to allow for the establishment of an ecosystem of promising blockchain-based projects, maximizing each partner’s success potential.

“As ICOs have become the new normal, it is no longer necessary to wait until you have accumulated significant revenue to make your dreams into reality. However, many would-be token-issuers need guidance which is neutral, independent, and unbiased. BVV provides this quality support, offering the necessary advice and assistance so that inspired businesses may fully recognise their potential,” said Richard Olsen, Founder and CEO of Lykke Corporation.

“Blockchain technology has already shown itself to be a highly disruptive force across all manners of industry – from supply chain management, to e-commerce, and fintech. Our long-term vision is to develop BVV into a leading management holding in the crypto space, offering assistance to projects we believe have real potential to have lasting effects on industries primed for disruption. We are excited to be facilitating and supporting the continued transformation of our shared global digital future,” said Heinrich Zetlmayer, BVV General Partner.

BVV will operate from the heart of the Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, working within and leveraging the benefits of the world’s most advanced and experienced ecosystem of blockchain companies, blockchain-experienced lawyers, auditors, tax advisors, and financial regulators. The venture capital firm’s initial focus will be on Swiss and European-based projects and investment opportunities, with an expansion into other key global markets planned for the future.

“BVV’s core mission is to build bridges between startups and investors, assisting those projects which offer real, substantive benefits to the global digital economy and the blockchain sector as a whole. Our partners are proven and successful companies who support the further development of a credible blockchain-powered ecosystem – both within Switzerland and internationally. We look forward to further expanding this network in the future, by connecting ambitious projects with liquidity providers, and assisting companies in navigating on of the fastest growing industries in the world successfully, ” concluded Oliver Bussmann, BVV Board Member.

For more information visit www.bvventures.ch

About Blockchain Valley Ventures (BVV)

Blockchain Valley Ventures (BVV) is a new accelerator and venture firm incubating, developing and investing in blockchain-enabled businesses. A spin-off from Lykke Corporation, a pioneer in blockchain-powered trading and blockchain-based business models, BVV investments are done from own funding for incubation stages and through investment vehicles, such as the Blockchain Investment Opportunities Note, in cooperation with Vicenda. Located in heart of the Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, BVV operates within and supports the world’s most advanced and experienced ecosystem of blockchain companies, blockchain-experienced lawyers, auditors, tax advisors and financial regulators. www.bvventures.ch.

About Lykke

Lykke is building a global marketplace for the free exchange of financial assets. By leveraging the power of emerging technology, its platform eliminates market inefficiencies, promotes equal access from anywhere in the world, and supports the trade of any object of value. eLykke Corp, incorporated in Switzerland, issues its shares in the form of Lykke Coins on the Blockchain.

About Dr. Ing. Heinrich Zetlmayer, Blockchain Valley Ventures General Partner

Heinrich Zetlmayer, General Partner at Blockchain Valley Ventures, is an active digital investor, and early investor in, and board member of, Lykke. He has extensive operational and strategic experience in growth and turnaround situations of large and small companies. Previously, Heinrich was a member of IBM’s Executive Board in Switzerland and Vice President and Country Leader of IBM Global Business Services. Prior to this he held several senior positions within IBM Global Business Services, including leading IBM’s Supply Chain and Operations Services in EMEA. Before IBM, Heinrich was a Senior Partner at Arthur D. Little, an international management consultancy firm, leading their Global Operations Practice. He was also Co-CEO of Turtle Entertainment for many years. Heinrich holds a doctorate in automation from the Technical University in Munich, one of Germany’s leading scientific and technological institutions.

About Oliver Bussmann, Blockchain Valley Ventures Board Member

Oliver Bussmann is a globally recognized technology thought leader. The Founder and CEO of Bussmann Advisory AG, Oliver and his team advise enterprises and start-ups looking to stay ahead of the digital disruption curve. Bussmann Advisory is a strategic partner of Blockchain Valley Ventures. He also serves as President of the Swiss Crypto Valley Association, Global Ambassador for UK-based Innovate Finance, and as a Board Member of Identity 2020 – all leading industry associations. Bussmann was previously Group Chief Information Officer of UBS, where he successfully led a major IT transformation effort, instituting a new group-wide innovation framework and establishing UBS as a pioneer in the development of blockchain for use in financial services. Prior to UBS, he served as Global Chief Information Officer at SAP, spearheading significant technological transformation, and before held executive roles at Allianz and Deutsche Bank. Bussmann’s achievements have been widely recognized. He was named COO/CTO of the year by Financial News/The Wall Street Journal, European CIO of the Year by INSEAD/CIONET, received the Elite 8 Award, which is given to the most innovative leaders in technology working in capital markets by Wall Street & Technology Magazine, and has twice been included on the Financial News “FinTech 40” list of innovators shaping the future of finance.

About Richard Olsen, Founder and CEO of Lykke

Richard Olsen is the founder and CEO of Lykke, a Swiss Fintech company building a global blockchain-powered marketplace. He is chief executive of Olsen Ltd, an investment manager, and visiting professor at the Centre for Computational Finance and Economic Agents at the University of Essex.

A pioneer in high frequency finance with extensive entrepreneurial experience, Richard’s ambition is to transform financial markets into a seamless system without the inefficiencies that we today take for granted. Richard previously co-founded and served as CEO of OANDA, a currency information company and market maker in foreign exchange which launched the first fully automated FX trading platform offering second-by-second interest rate payments and netted 37 million of profits in 2007.