Johann Gevers CFA CA BCom BSc BA
Founder: Crypto Valley ecosystem, Monetas, Tezos Foundation, Crypto Valley Association, Digital Finance Compliance Association, Bitcoin Association Switzerland
Rated Top 100 finance leader in Switzerland
Bio:
Johann is a visionary thought leader and entrepreneur, currently building a new legal and social system based on breakthrough research.
He is the founder of the world-leading Crypto Valley ecosystem, as well as several startups and industry organizations. Rated as a Top 100 finance leader in Switzerland, his thought leadership has guided regulatory reform in multiple jurisdictions, and his articles, interviews, and presentations such as The Four Pillars of a Decentralized Society and The Age of CryptoFinance have been influential in the decentralized technologies and fintech spaces.
In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, he has served as consultant and strategic advisor to governments, regulators, and companies across diverse industries, including pioneering technology startups.
Résumé:
LinkedIn
Presentations:
The Four Pillars of a Decentralized Society
The Age of CryptoFinance — How CryptoFinance Will Transform the World
Articles:
The Future of Finance
Why Crypto Technologies are a Powerful Force for Improving the World
Current project:
My mission is to drive the development of a free and prosperous society. I believe innovative legal systems and advanced technologies present us with a unique opportunity to dramatically improve the quality of life of people everywhere.
Our economies and societies operate within the framework of governance systems — systems of values, rules, and mechanisms that govern our interactions and our lives. While there is much that is sound and good in our current cultural and politico-legal systems, there is also substantial room for improvement. Over a lifetime of research starting in my teens, I developed a series of new concepts, rules, and mechanisms for improving how our legal, economic, and social systems operate. I and my team are now building a new legal and social system that implements these innovations.
We live in an incredibly exciting time in history. Never before have we held such power to positively transform the world.
Past projects include:
- 2013–2017: Crypto Valley
- Having founded my own crypto startup in 2012, I realized that our probability of success would be greatly improved if we were part of a vibrant ecosystem of talented entrepreneurs, deep pools of capital, world-class engineers, and expert service providers, underpinned by supportive government and a friendly regulatory environment. Since the United States was an unfriendly jurisdiction for emerging crypto technologies and businesses, Silicon Valley was not a good option. Researching crypto-friendly alternatives to Silicon Valley, I discovered that none existed. So I decided that we needed to build one:
In May 2013 I developed the vision for Crypto Valley as an ecosystem and global hub for crypto technologies modeled on the success of Silicon Valley. In July 2013, after researching and visiting candidate jurisdictions across the world, I chose Zug, Switzerland as the ideal location and started building the Crypto Valley ecosystem here by developing supportive relationships with the authorities, attracting Ethereum and a series of other leading crypto startups, helping them design their strategy and setup their operations here, developing an ecosystem of expert crypto-knowledgeable legal and other professional service providers, driving the development of a friendly regulatory environment, and promoting Crypto Valley in the industry and the media.
With the broad support of numerous individuals, startups, corporates, service providers, industry associations, educational institutions, governments, and regulators, Crypto Valley has grown into a thriving ecosystem and vibrant community, attracting world-class talent, over a thousand companies including 14 unicorns, and billions of dollars in investment. Industry leaders including Bitcoin Suisse, Ethereum, Consensys, Cardano, Solana, Polkadot, Near, Cosmos, Elrond, Dfinity, Tezos, Aave, Nexo, Bitmex, Bittrex, Seba, Sygnum, SwissBorg, ShapeShift, and many others were born in Crypto Valley or have moved here.
In July 2016 the city of Zug became the first government in the world to officially accept bitcoin payments. In July 2017 the city of Zug announced that it would become the first government in the world to offer blockchain-based digital identities to its citizens. Crypto Valley is now a world-leading ecosystem for crypto, blockchain, and distributed ledger technologies that has inspired the development of further crypto ecosystems all over the world.A few markers along the way:
- In 2013 I co-founded the Bitcoin Association Switzerland — the first fintech association in Switzerland — to help nurture the Swiss cryptofinance community, spread awareness and understanding of Bitcoin and crypto technologies, and organize cryptofinance meetups and events in Crypto Valley and beyond.
- In 2014 I founded the Digital Finance Compliance Association (DFCA) to spearhead the development of a clear, business-friendly legal framework for the cryptofinance industry. Through several years of strategic behind-the-scenes work with regulators and authorities in Switzerland, the DFCA made excellent progress — many of our proposals were adopted, thereby removing obstacles and enabling the development of the crypto industry in Switzerland. Our work helped shape the direction of discussion and regulation in Switzerland and internationally.
- In 2016 I was invited by the Liechtenstein government to help develop a friendly regulatory framework for the crypto industry. Our work was completed in 2019 with the public announcement of the world’s first “crypto law” — a comprehensive, pioneering act of legislation that put Liechtenstein in the lead as one of the most advanced, business-friendly jurisdictions for crypto technologies, and has inspired similar regulatory initiatives in other jurisdictions.
- In 2017 I co-founded the Crypto Valley Association as a professional organization to coordinate, accelerate, and scale the further development of Crypto Valley.
- Having founded my own crypto startup in 2012, I realized that our probability of success would be greatly improved if we were part of a vibrant ecosystem of talented entrepreneurs, deep pools of capital, world-class engineers, and expert service providers, underpinned by supportive government and a friendly regulatory environment. Since the United States was an unfriendly jurisdiction for emerging crypto technologies and businesses, Silicon Valley was not a good option. Researching crypto-friendly alternatives to Silicon Valley, I discovered that none existed. So I decided that we needed to build one:
- In 2012 I co-founded Monetas to bring the world’s most advanced financial and legal services to everyone with a mobile phone, including the world’s billions of unbanked and underbanked adults. Our open and extensible technology was designed to enable consumers, businesses, and institutions to trade all types of assets, currencies, and instruments across devices, providers, and borders with matchless security, efficiency, and performance. Monetas achieved a series of recognitions, including: winner of the Swisscom Startup Challenge, one of the Top 7 cryptofinance startups in EMEA and one of the Top 21 globally, and one of the 50 hottest fintech companies in Europe.
- In 2011, I took Future Cities Development from idea to operational company in three months. Helped define vision, mission, business model, and strategy. Developed valuation model for a new kind of company — a country startup — validated by Goldman Sachs consultant. Developed contract template that advances the state of the art, validated by top international law firm. Negotiated legal contracts with billionaire investors in successful USD 1 million seed funding round. Researched and implemented best practices and best-of-breed solutions across the corporate infrastructure: jurisdictions, incorporation, banking, legal, collaboration infrastructure, security, technical support, organizational systems, recruiting, and compensation framework.
- From 2004 to 2011, at the Institute for Freedom, I developed foundational elements of a new legal system for a truly free, just, and prosperous society — a society that works for everyone — based on the insight that individual sovereignty forms the essential basis of community and civil society. At the core of the system is a new, precise formulation of the Golden Rule:
Every person is sovereign to the extent that they respect the sovereignty of other persons, and have made restitution to persons whose sovereignty they have violated.
This principle of individual sovereignty (which I’ve named The Freedom Universal), combined with a breakthrough social mechanism design (including innovative choice of law and choice of forum provisions), enables a system of highly adaptive social organization.
- Advised Smart Action from conception to commercialization, on strategy, business plan, intellectual property, legal contracts, computer security, communications and collaboration infrastructure, website, valuation model, and investor presentation. They successfully commercialized their product in 2009 — clients include Fortune 100 companies.
- Developed an artificial intelligence forecasting and optimization solution for a greenhouse farm. The system bested existing methods 89% of the time — reduced variances to less than 10% from over 25%. An analysis revealed unexpected factors impacting crop yield — enabling improved control, higher yield, and lower costs.
- Performed global macro investment analysis and long-term portfolio recommendations for a trust company and recommended purchase of precious metals in early 2009 when gold was trading at $900 and silver at $13. Within three years, gold exceeded $1,800 — a 100% return, and silver exceeded $40 — a 208% return.
- Re-engineered business systems and work processes for a graphic design agency, driving a 40% productivity improvement. Cut expenses more than 30% by improving procurement systems and controls. Restructured loans to reduce cost of borrowing. Reduced sales tax bill 75% through a little-known exemption.