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“This is not the end of Smart Valor, but the right step for shareholders,” emphasizes Olga Feldmeier (46) in an interview with Blick. The Swiss-Ukrainian entrepreneur, dubbed the “queen of crypto,” is reading unpleasant headlines about her company these days. This comes after Feldmeier announced that he was delisting Smart Valor after just two years.
The IPO was said to be a “disaster”. “What is being said about Smart Valor is ridiculous,” says Founder and Chairman Feldmeier angrily. “I don’t know which company it was written about. Not about me.”
The truth is: The stock price of cryptocurrency custody and exchange provider Smart Valor has fallen by an incredible 99 percent since its peak. Shares of Nasdaq First North, the Swedish arm of US technology exchange Nasdaq, are currently worth 0.40 Swedish krona, or 3 cents. Compared to 44.80 Swedish krona (3.83 francs) two years ago. The current crypto hype isn’t changing that.
Simultaneously with the IPO, war broke out in Ukraine and global markets crashed. “When there is panic in the financial markets, no one invests in technology startups, especially crypto,” explains Feldmeier. There was also little liquidity and interest in crypto companies in the small Swedish market. Smart Valor sought to gain access to the US capital market through Nasdaq First North, but this was unsuccessful. According to Feldmeier, the culprit is regulators in the US who have declared war on the crypto industry.
In the Whirlpool, Sam Bankman-Fried
Then came the collapse of the crypto trading platform FTX. Smart Valor and FTX have a somewhat similar business model and enable the conversion of traditional currencies into cryptocurrencies. “We are the opposite of FTX, we are regulated,” says Feldmeier. “But people just see the headlines and lump everyone together.” Smart Valor’s revenue has halved and its price has plummeted. The Vaduz and Zug-based company reported a net loss of 1.4 million francs in the first half of 2023 alone (more recent figures not available).
Noteworthy: Shortly after FTX’s bankruptcy, Feldmeier announced that the Swiss crypto industry would emerge from the turbulence as a winner and assured that his company would not be affected by the collapse.
Are customers at risk of bankruptcy and staff at risk of redundancy? “No,” assures Feldmeier. “Our withdrawal from the exchange will not change anything for our customers.” Shareholders will not lose their shares, but they will soon own ordinary shares under Swiss law instead of Swedish depositary receipts.
Small fish in the Swiss crypto valley
What has definitely changed: transparency. “With the IPO we want to show that we are a reliable and transparent company,” Feldmeier told Blick two years ago. Very little of it remains. With delisting, the obligation to disclose job figures also disappears.
The local crypto industry is unperturbed by Feldmeier’s turmoil. Smart Valor is too insignificant for this: Customer assets reached 8.1 million francs as of June 2023. The company has 40 employees, only some of whom are in Switzerland. For example, the back office is located in Eastern Europe. The entire Swiss crypto sector includes approximately 1,300 companies with an estimated 6,000 employees.
Despite everything, Feldmeier sees rosy times on the horizon. “We know very well that we will return to profitability this year.” These are big sounds from the fallen crypto queen. You’re not used to anything different than that.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
