Liniger recalled introducing Relai\u2019s promo phrase \u201ceasy crypto investing\u201d and the instant backlash it drew from Bitcoiners.<\/p>\n

Based in Switzerland, Liniger and the Relai team had a leg up on the rest of Europe, as regulations in Switzerland are a bit more relaxed than those in the European Union. Liniger, however, did not want to just serve Swiss citizens for two reasons.<\/p>\n

The first is that the percentage of Swiss citizens that own bitcoin is closer to 20%, according to Liniger, as compared to the 10% or so of Europeans from other countries. There\u2019s less of a market for those who are new to Bitcoin to go after in Switzerland as compared to those living in the EU and UK.<\/p>\n

The second reason is that Switzerland\u2019s population is about 8.7 million, whereas the total population of the EU plus UK is over 500 million.<\/p>\n

In the past four years, Relai has acquired 120,000 users across the continent and Liniger says the growth curve is accelerating even as the company faces certain regulatory impediments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not currently allowed to actively acquire users in the EU for regulatory reasons,\u201d explained Liniger. \u201cWe can do active marketing tactics in Switzerland, but not in all the EU countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even in the absence of marketing, Relai continues to grow its user base, especially in Germany, Italy and France.<\/p>\n

The number of Relai users in these countries will likely continue to grow rapidly as the company is in the process of obtaining licensing from France that will allow the company to advertise to EU customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably by the end of this year, we will get the French license approval,\u201d said Liniger. \u201cThen, at the beginning of next year, there’s going to be MiCA and this [French license] is going to transition into a MiCA license, which will then allow us to actively acquire customers in all the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once this happens, Liniger believes that upwards of 90% of bitcoin purchases in the EU and UK will happen via Relai.<\/p>\n

The Cost Of Compliance<\/h2>\n

While Liniger, notably calm and level-headed, talks about the process of overcoming regulatory hurdles, one can\u2019t help but imagine how frustrating the process has been for him and his team.<\/p>\n

He stated that regulatory bodies and requirements have become significantly more intrusive for not only startups like Relai, but established financial institutions, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard stories from our CFO who used to work at ING, a huge bank, four or five years ago,\u201d shared Liniger. \u201cHe was in one of these risk management compliance departments, which, when he joined, was like three or four people and the team has 10x\u2019d in the four or five years since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liniger went on to explain that many of Relai\u2019s peers have up to a third of their team focused on regulatory compliance.<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s hopeful that the likes of Coinbase and Kraken fighting the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in court will set some sort of precedent that will get regulators to back off, he doesn\u2019t see the trend of regulatory overreach reversing just yet, which seems slightly worrisome to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t have these resources at all,\u201d said Liniger, comparing Relai\u2019s funds to the type of money that Coinbase and Kraken have in their coffers to fight regulators in court.<\/p>\n

This is part of the reason Relai didn\u2019t fight back in court when regulators told them they had to KYC all of their customers.<\/p>\n