Page 12 - Maerki Baumann & Co. AG | Krypto

On a first-name basis with blockchain and co.
An experience report
I first came into contact with cryptocurrencies in the summer of 2017. Back then, I was still at secondary school and became aware of Bitcoin and co. and their meteoric price rise through social media. At that time, however, I neither understood anything about block- chain technology and its potential nor did I have the financial means at my disposal to invest in cryptocurrencies myself. Nevertheless, I was gripped on the topic and followed the run on Bitcoin with excitement.
In the meantime, I started my business studies at the University of Zurich. My attention was turned to cryptocurrencies once more during a lecture on banking. What particularly impressed me was the idea of democratising the financial system. I therefore started to look into the topic in more depth. It became clear to me that I would like to gain my first practical work experience in this field.
An interesting time at Maerki Baumann
Maerki Baumann enjoys an excellent reputation, especially in the private banking sector. However, instead of just focussing on this segment, the family business has expanded its offering step by step. It started offering crypto services at an early stage, assuming a pio- neering role on the Swiss market in the process. I was convinced by the approach of expanding or combining the traditional banking business with innovative crypto services. When the opportunity arose for me to complete an internship at the Maerki Baumann Crypto Desk during my summer holidays in 2020, I didn’t have to think twice: I gladly accepted. I was looking forward to the new challenge – and I wasn’t disappointed!
The true goal of crypto projects
I mainly spent the first few days of my internship getting to grips with the topic of block- chain and familiarising myself with the Bank’s wide range of crypto services. What’s more, I was able to gain an insight into the process for an initial coin offering (ICO) on the basis of practical examples. In the weeks that followed, I was allowed to take part in seve- ral client meetings. This gave me a better understanding of client needs and provided a deeper insight into the manifold areas of application made possible by blockchain techno- logy. It was only at this point that I realised that most (crypto) projects don’t simply aim to replace fiat currencies. Instead, they want to make goods, such as works of art or vintage cars, that until now have been reserved for an exclusive group of investors accessible to the broad masses.
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