Swiss Government Rejects $103 Million Bailout for Crypto Companies Battered by Coronavirus

Switzerland’s government has rejected a 100 million franc ($103 million) bailout for local cryptocurrency companies battered by the coronavirus economy, local media reported.

Zug finance director Heinz Taennler requested the special funding package in April. He planned to issue out loans to startups, which could be converted into shares.

The central government had already unveiled a $158.6 million credit facility for all fintech startups, but Taennler felt that won’t be enough for the cryptocurrency sector’s ambitious financing needs.

Zug is the heartbeat of Switzerland’s famed crypto industry, commonly known as the “Crypto Valley.”

Now, members of the Zug local government last week turned down Taennler’s funding request, the only such request to be rejected from over 24 different applications for coronavirus emergency funding, according to a report by local newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.

The majority of the government officials were reportedly not too enthused about the…