【国际】“避税天堂”列支敦士登，区块链行业的后起之秀？

2018 年 7 月 26 日 互联网金融

抵达列支敦士登首都瓦杜兹，就像走入迪士尼经典电影之中。

王子的城堡坐落在山边，俯瞰着下面的小镇。人口只有3.6万，全国每一个公民都能舒适地坐在洋基体育馆内，而三分之一的座位仍然是空的。

作为神圣罗马帝国的最后遗迹，这个公国安静地坐落在瑞士和奥地利之间的山上，离苏黎世大约一个小时的行程。这个国家的护照上甚至有一张放大的插图，显示了这个国家的位置，因为世界各地的许多边防人员都怀疑这个国家是否真实存在。

然而，在银行业，列支敦士登是非常真实的存在。多年来，这个国家一直被视为富人隐藏金钱和逃避来自他们家乡的税收的地方。这一结果使得该国2009年人均国内生产总值达到13.9万美元，位居世界首位。

然而，在经历了2008年的金融危机之后，来自德国、英国等国改变的压力开始增加。即使在该国国内，列支敦士登的领导层也意识到，现在是在全球经济中寻找竞争替代方式的时候了。大约在同一时间，中本聪推出了创世纪的区块——比特币区块链，开启了加密革命。命运为新的增长阶段奠定了基础。

享有欧洲经济区的成员资格，与瑞士结成关税同盟，在全球金融领域有着悠久的历史，拥有“小政府”的缩影，这些让列支敦士登能够快速执行监管，也让该国意识到有机会在区块链的未来世界中占据领导地位。作为25 Crypto Explorers团队的一员，我最近拜访了瓦杜兹。很显然，这个国家对区块链产业可谓“全情投入”。

法律、监管和银行基础

通过从附近的瑞士楚格“加密谷”（Crypto Valley）取得的令人印象深刻的进步中获得灵感，列支敦士登正全力以赴，意向成为加密/区块链公司落座和做生意的首选目的地。

该国监管机构金融市场管理局( FMA )于2017年9月颁布了对ICO的第一份意见。诚然，列支敦士登的区块链产业现在还处于早期阶段。迄今为止，该国仅注册和启动了五个ICO，总共筹集了3750万美元，其中三项仍在进行中。然而，Adrian Hasler首相（列支敦士登是君主立宪制国家）在3月份宣布了一项有待通过的立法，这使得该国在加密行业中处于全球意识增强的地位。

众所周知的《区块链法案》将寻求赋予加密公司监管和法律可预测性，并允许获得传统的法定银行服务。对以以太币或其他加密货币筹集资金的ICO来说，授权“场外”的加密对全球初创企业来说是一项重大挑战。列支敦士登的法案如果通过，将会给区块链公司带来许多好处，包括帮助他们克服KYC (了解你的客户)和AML (反洗钱)障碍，以便他们能够有效地融入传统经济。该法案定于7月10日通过，并于2019年初颁布，但是意料之外的延迟使得这一法案被搁置。（据该国最大的日报报道，在法案通过的那一天，媒体正等着报道这个消息，但却被告知政府没有批准这项立法。自从这一消息在夏季休会前的最后一天被公布以来，该国政府一直没有给出批准失败的原因，观察员们也不得不等到秋季才能知晓。）

不过总的来说，该法案一定会通过，因为政府官员和监管者已经投入了大量的思考和努力来研究不同类型的通证将如何工作，管理它们的框架，以及如何使它们与现有结构协调一致。

如果实施了《区块链法案》，正如在列支敦士登的Crypto Nation网站上所解释的那样，将为以下方面提供法律依据：

安全代币：任何可能资产（动产和不动产、股票、证券等）的代币化
数字资产所有权
数字资产所有权的转移
数字资产的安全存储
数字资产存储的法律要求
通证经济中商业提供商的几个许可级别
初始货币发行(ICO)、通证销售和通证生成事件(TGE)

该国一个独特的事实是，“加密对加密”交易不受监管。正如该国领先的加密领域律师事务所Naegele的律师Thomas Feldkircher所言，“从比特币转换成以太币就像从小麦转换成大米一样。列支敦士登不监管商品。”

难怪随着列支敦士登加密交易所( LCX )于7月底启动后，加密货币交易开始猛增。LCX首席执行官Monty Metzger表示：“随着通证经济的到来，新的法案和列支敦士登作为金融强国的世界级声誉将使我们成为许多公司向往的目的地。”

除了法律将提供的明确性和确定性之外，该国寻求通过在监管批准方面提供来自FMA无与伦比的响应能力，来进一步脱颖而出。在一个和加密一样快的市场中，上市时间是列支敦士登寻求实现的竞争优势。

“因为我们这么小，区块链公司在这里的发展速度要比其他国家快得多，”该国监管机构最高负责人Patrick Bont表示。“你可以在星期一早上给我们打电话开会，我们可以在星期二或星期三和你一起吃午饭。很少有其他地方能够持续做到这样。”

不仅仅是监管速度让其有所不同，政府与私营部门合作，正在寻求创建一个欢迎和扶持区块链公司的生态系统。

首相高级顾问Thomas Duenser，倡导“创新俱乐部”的理念，这是一个众包概念，鼓励企业家提交想法来改善国家的商业框架。

存在其他实体和工具来促进创新和增长，例如加密国家协会和政府批准的列支敦士登风险合作社，可以形成公认的法律实体，在发明者和投资者努力将创新推向市场时，为他们提供一定程度的保护。

所有这些因素对于创造一个对区块链友好的环境至关重要，但是，没有一个融入全球金融体系的成熟银行来运作这一切，繁荣的区块链生态系统是不可能的。这就是Bank Frick切入的地方。

拥有65%的股份Frick创始家族，在列支敦士登银行业的还算是个新人(成立于1998年)，该机构在提供加密相关服务方面一直处于领先地位。2017年9月，该银行提供了针对比特币和以太币投资的证书(私人配售工具)。然后，在二月份，它开始向五种最大的加密货币的客户提供直接投资。今天，它已经成为这个领域公认的领导者，已经帮助20多个ICO项目建立了传统的银行账户，还有更多的项目正在筹备中。如今，Bank Frick在加密和区块链领域拥有大约200名客户，包括企业客户(加密货币挖矿组织、经纪人、交易所、交易商和ICO)以及从事加密和区块链领域的私人客户。它每天收到多达40份新的请求。

列支敦士登成为加密大国的机遇和挑战

列支敦士登要成为加密创新和增长的全球枢纽，还有大量的基础工作要做，也存在着许多挑战。

管辖加密创企仲裁的竞争格局正在加剧。列支敦士登的邻国瑞士可能行动稍慢，但作为一个国家，它可能拥有更强大的国际加密口碑。其他国家，如马耳他、直布罗陀和新加坡，都在迅速努力，以驾驭助力经济增长的暗潮。相比列支敦士登，他们都至少拥有一条重要的优势：人们听说过它们。该公国在全球范围内面临着重大的认知障碍。

该国人口稀少也意味着用于有效传达其关键价值主张和优势的资源减少。即使是最专注、最热情的加密爱好者，也不得不去多个地方获得如何做的指导。关键概念已经存在，但是如果列支敦士登真的想被视为顶级吸引者，信息传递需要连贯和集中。

最近推迟通过区块链法案可能会成为一个问题，因为在这个市场演变的“抢地”阶段，新兴加密公司正在寻找根据地，并迅速开始运营。然而，在列支敦士登政府通讯大臣Thomas Weidmann先生发表官方声明后，大多数加密领域业内人士相信该法案将按原计划得到加强和批准。简而言之，承诺仍然存在。

最后，还有产品与市场不匹配的风险。例如，在美国，股权众筹方面需要很多合作，从两党的就业法案，到与SEC长达三年的规则制定，再到帮助起草法律和运营众筹服务的私营公司。当所有该说和该做的都完成后，股权众筹还没有达到预期的使用水平。ICO似乎取代了这一愿景。总而言之，投入股权众筹的工作并没有带来多少回报，尽管投入了大量的公共资源和时间。

列支敦士登是否会成为一个强大的加密玩家还有待观察，但是，该国的许多私营和公共领导层都致力于实现这一目标。

如果他们真的实现了这一飞跃，列支敦士登成为一个加密国家将不会是迪士尼童话。这将是一个不可改变的现实。

英文原文

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Arriving in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, is like walking onto the set of Frozen or some other classic Disney movie.

The Prince’s castle sits perched on the side of a mountain, overlooking the small town below. With a population of only 36,000, every citizen of the country could comfortably fit inside Yankee stadium, and a third of the seats would still be empty.

The last relic of the Holy Roman Empire, the principality is safely nestled in the mountains between Switzerland and Austria, about an hour from Zurich. The nation’s passports even have an inset blow-up map showing the country’s location because many border guards around the world are skeptical it is a real country.

In the world of banking, however, Liechtenstein is very much real. For years, the country was viewed and used as a place for wealthy individuals to hide money and evade taxes from their native lands. The result led to a GDP per capita of $139,000 by 2009, the highest in the world.

Intensifying in 2008 and into 2009, however, pressure began to mount on the country from Germany, the UK, and others to change. Internally, as well, leadership within Liechtenstein recognized the time had come to find alternative ways to compete in a global economy. Around the same time, Satoshi Nakamoto rolled out the genesis block of the Bitcoin blockchain, kicking off the Crypto Revolution. Fate was setting the stage for a new stage of growth.

Enjoying membership in the European Economic Area, a customs union with Switzerland, a strong history in global finance, and having the epitome of “small government” that enables rapid regulatory execution, Liechtenstein sees a chance to seize a leadership position in the blockchain-based world of the future. On a recent trip to Vaduz as part of a group of 25 Crypto Explorers, it was abundantly clear to me that the country is “all-in” when it comes to blockchain.

Legal, regulatory, and banking foundations

Taking inspiration from the impressive strides made by nearby “Crypto Valley” in Zug, Switzerland, Liechtenstein is moving full steam ahead to become a preferred destination for crypto/blockchain companies to locate and do business.

The country’s regulator, the Financial Market Authority (FMA) issued its first opinion on ICOs in September 2017. Admittedly it is still early days for blockchain in Liechtenstein — only five ICOs have been registered and launched in the country to date, raising a total of $37.5 million, with three of those still ongoing. However, an announcement of pending legislation in March by Prime Minister Adrian Hasler (Liechtenstein is a constitutional monarchy) catapulted the country into a position of increased global awareness within the crypto industry.

The “Blockchain Law,” as it is known, would seek to give crypto companies regulatory and legal predictability as well as enable access to traditional fiat-based banking services. The crypto to fiat “off-ramp” for ICOs that raise money in Ether or other cryptocurrencies is a significant challenge for startups globally. Liechtenstein’s law, should it pass, would have many benefits for blockchain companies, including helping them overcome KYC (know-your-customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) hurdles so they can effectively integrate with the traditional economy. The law was slated to pass July 10 with enactment in early 2019, but a surprise delay has put it on hold. (According to the country’s largest daily newspaper, on the day the bill was to pass, with the press waiting to report the news, it was revealed that the government hadn’t approved the legislation. Since that news broke on the last day the government was in session before summer recess — and no reason was given for the failed approval — observers will be left scratching their heads until the fall.)

Still, the general sense is that the bill will indeed pass. Momentum is strong, as government officials and regulators have put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into how different types of tokens will work, the frameworks for regulating them, and how to have them work in harmony with existing structures.

If and when it is implemented, the Blockchain Act, as explained on the Liechtenstein-based Crypto Nation site, will provide a legal basis for:

Security Tokens: the tokenization of any possible asset (movable and immovable, rights, securities etc.)
Ownership of digital assets
Transfer of ownership of digital assets
Safe storage of digital assets
Legal requirements for storage of digital assets
Several levels of licensing for business providers in the Token Economy
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), Token Sales, and Token Generation Events (TGEs)

One unique fact in the country is that crypto-to-crypto trading is not regulated. As Thomas Feldkircher, a lawyer at Naegele, the country’s leading crypto-focused law firm, said, “Converting from Bitcoin to Ether is like converting from wheat to rice. Liechtenstein does not regulate commodities.”

It comes as no surprise then that crypto exchanges are starting to pop up as well, with the Liechtenstein Crypto Exchange (LCX) launching at the end of July. Monty Metzger, the CEO of LCX, said, “The new law and the world-class reputation of Liechtenstein as a financial powerhouse is going to make us an attractive destination for many, many companies as the token economy takes hold.”

In addition to the clarity and certainty the law will provide, the country seeks to further differentiate itself by offering unparalleled responsiveness from the FMA in terms of regulatory approval. In a market as fast as crypto, time-to-market is a competitive advantage that Liechtenstein seeks to enable.

“Because we are so small, blockchain companies can move a lot faster here than other countries,” said Patrick Bont, the country’s top regulator. “You can call us for a meeting on Monday morning and we can meet you for lunch on Tuesday or Wednesday. Very few other places can do that consistently.”

It is not just regulatory speed that makes a difference. The government, in cooperation with the private sector, is seeking to create an ecosystem that is welcoming and enabling of blockchain companies.

Thomas Duenser, senior advisor to the Prime Minister, champions the idea of “Innovation Clubs,” a crowdsourcing concept where entrepreneurs are encouraged to submit ideas to improve the business framework in the country.

Other entities and vehicles exist to foster innovation and growth, such as the Crypto Country Association and the government-approved Liechtenstein Venture Cooperative, a quick way to form recognized legal entities that provide inventors and investors some degree of protection as they work to bring innovation to market.

All of these ingredients are critical to creating a blockchain-friendly environment, but a thriving blockchain ecosystem wouldn’t be possible without an established bank, plugged into the global financial system, to make it all work. This is where Bank Frick comes in.

Owned 65 percent by the founding Frick family and a relative newcomer to the Liechtenstein banking scene (it was founded in 1998), the institution has been leading the charge in offering crypto-related services. In September 2017, the bank offered a certificate (a private placement vehicle) for investment in Bitcoin and Ether. Then, in February, it began offering direct investment to its clients of five of the largest cryptocurrencies. Today, it is a recognized leader in the space, having helped over two dozen ICO projects establish traditional bank accounts with many more in the pipeline. Today, Bank Frick has approximately 200 clients in the crypto and blockchain space, including both corporate clients (ranging from cryptocurrency mining groups, brokers, exchanges, traders, and ICOs) and private clients engaged in the crypto and blockchain space. It receives up to 40 new requests every day.

Opportunity and challenges for Liechtenstein as a crypto power player

An impressive amount of groundwork exists for Liechtenstein to emerge as a global hub for crypto innovation and growth. Yet, numerous challenges exist.

The competitive landscape for jurisdictional crypto-startup arbitrage is intensifying. Liechtenstein’s neighbor, Switzerland, may move a bit more slowly but has perhaps one of the strongest international crypto brands as a country. Others, such as Malta (which lured Binance), Gibraltar, and Singapore, are all working rapidly to ride the crypto wave towards economic growth. They all possess at least one significant leg up on Liechtenstein: People have heard of them. The principality has a significant awareness hurdle globally.

The country’s tiny population also means fewer resources devoted to effectively communicating the its key value proposition and advantages. Even the most dedicated and passionate crypto-enthusiast (like your humble author) had to go to multiple places to get direction on what to do and how to do it. The key concepts are there, but the messaging needs coherence and focus if Liechtenstein really wants to be regarded as top-tier.

The recent delay in the passage of the Blockchain Law could prove to be a problem, since crypto-startups are looking to domicile and begin operations quickly in this “land grab” phase of the market’s evolution. However, following an official statement from Mr. Thomas Weidmann, Head of Communication at the Government of Liechtenstein, most crypto-insiders are confident the bill will be enhanced and ratified as originally planned. In short, the commitment is still there.

Finally, there is the risk of no product-market fit. For example, there was a lot of collaboration in the US for equity crowdfunding, from the bipartisan JOBS Act, to three years’ worth of rule-making with the SEC, to the private companies that helped write the law and run the crowdfunding services. When all was said and done, equity crowdfunding hasn’t seen the level of usage that was predicted. ICOs appear to have replaced that vision. All in all, the work put into equity crowdfunding delivered little in return for the huge amount of public resources and time that went into it.

Whether Liechtenstein becomes a crypto power player remains to be seen, but many in the private and public leadership of the country are committed to making a go of it.

If they do make that leap, Liechtenstein as crypto nation won’t be a Disney fairy tale. It will be a immutable reality.

译者：福尔摩望

来源：猎云网