Letztes Update: 28. September 2023
Cryptonow’s voucher cards are described as a “simple and secure solution to purchase Bitcoin and other digital currencies.” From April 1, the voucher card will be available in Valora kiosks, Avec stores and Shell, BP and Avia gas station stores. The Manor department store chain has already been carrying the card since the beginning of March. Of course, I had to buy such a card and try the activation. Here you can read about my experiences.
This is not a recommendation to buy or act. As with any investment, you should do a lot of research before you buy. There are countless blogs, podcasts and YouTube videos on the Internet on the subject of Bitcoin. As a book for beginners is suitable, for example:
Cryptonow
The Cryptonow platform is a trademark of Värdex Suisse AG. Värdex is based in Zug and offers crypto-financial services. The company started with Bitcoin vending machines. Then in 2021, Cryptonow was launched.
Outlets
On the homepage of Cryptonow all points of sale of the voucher card are listed. However, I was unlucky at my first Manor store. This has not yet been delivered and the employee could not tell me whether the voucher card would even be offered at this branch. So off to the next branch – I had better luck there.
Purchase
In Manor stores, the Cryptonow gift card can be found alongside all the other gift cards, such as Google Play, Ticketcorner or Xbox.
At the cash desk you can load the card with amounts between CHF 50 and 500. However, now you only have Swiss francs on your Cryptonow card. Either you give it away now or, if you bought it for yourself, you still need to activate it now and exchange the Swiss Francs into Bitcoin.
Activation
You activate the Cryptonow card on the website cryptonow.ch/en/go. There you enter your Wallet ID, which you will find on your card, and the PIN code, which can also be found on the back and must first be scratched free. The last thing you will be asked for is your mobile number. The whole procedure is illustrated in an understandable way.
Now you get a text message. With this mTAN you verify your identity.
Finally, the exchange amount will be displayed. In my case CHF 50 and the value in the target currency, i.e. Bitcoin. If desired, you can view the fees included. And they are steep: the activation fee is CHF 1 and the exchange commission is a hefty 6.9%. No, that’s not a typo:
This makes Cryptonow one of the most expensive providers. But simplicity has its price. By the way, further down you’ll find providers that are also simple, but don’t take away quite as many fees.
The 0.000827 Bitcoin will then be automatically transferred to your Cryptonow wallet. By the way, one Bitcoin can be divided into one hundred million Satoshi. Satoshi is the smallest tradable part of a Bitcoin. Well, I can’t remember the number 0.000827 or the number 82’700.
The voucher card is also your Cryptonow Cold Wallet. Cryptonow writes, “The physical blockchain wallet serves as a blockchain “cold-storage” solution. The physical private key on the card ensures that your cryptocurrencies are 100% offline and always secure.”
A hot wallet, in contrast, would be a storage facility for cryptocurrencies that is connected to the Internet.
Tracking
Cryptonow recommends using Blockchain Explorer to check the balance. It can take up to 60 minutes until the transaction is visible in Bitcoin Explorer. It didn’t take fifteen minutes for me. To do this, you need to enter the Public Address in the Blockchain Explorer, which you will also find on the back of the Cryptonow card. As the name suggests, this is a public address. If you know the sequence of digits, you can see how much Bitcoin is on the respective address.
Only with the private key can transactions be carried out. On the Cryptonow card, you will find the private key under a field that can be scratched freely as a long character string and as a QR code. Anyone who knows the private key can perform transactions. So you should keep your Cryptonow voucher card with the private key safe like cash or a gold vreneli.
What I’m missing is the ability to track the progression of the value in CHF. What app do you use to track your bitcoin? Write your favorites in the comments below.
Alternatives
Relai
Alternatives include the Swiss app Relai, which bills itself as “Europe’s simplest bitcoin investment app.” There you can also easily buy Bitcoin from CHF 10 without much prior knowledge and without a lengthy identification process. And you can even set up weekly and monthly savings plans in no time. After entering the desired amount in CHF, you will be shown the payment information. Payments must come from your own bank account and don’t forget to add the displayed payment notification so that the amount can be allocated to you.
The practical thing about it is that you can buy directly in Swiss francs via the Relai app and also sell Bitcoin. Indeed, the sale of Bitcoin is not possible via Cryptonow. However, the fees are also rather in the upper range with 3% plus the fixed fee of 0.00002 Bitcoin. With my Relai recommendation code: FINANZDEPOT you pay 0.5% less fees.
A wallet for storing bitcoin is integrated into the Relai app. This hot wallet is only suitable for storing smaller amounts.
Swissquote
Another easy way to buy bitcoin in Switzerland is Swissquote. At the Swiss online bank, you can trade Bitcoin as easily as you would trade a stock. However, you do not pay any custody fees, stamp duty or stock exchange tax, unlike a share. The transaction costs are 1% for amounts between 25 and 10,000 (equivalent in CHF). However, you will need USD or EUR. So you have to change your CHF into a foreign currency first. By the way, you cannot use trading credits to buy cryptocurrencies.
Bitstamp, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Luxembourg and London, will act as sub-custodian and liquidity provider.
Buying and keeping bitcoins at Swissquote is very convenient because you can easily track the value of your bitcoins and at the end of the year, the bitcoins will be listed on the portfolio performance. Transferring the values to the tax return and documenting them is therefore very convenient.
However, if you deposit Bitcoin at your bank, you are no longer your own bank and you have again an intermediary, which is actually unnecessary with Bitcoin.
Yuh
Read all about the financial app Yuh, where you can also easily buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, here.
Conclusion
Exchanging Swiss Francs for Bitcoin really works extremely easily with the Cryptonow voucher card and you don ‘t need any blockchain or trading knowledge at all. However, the fees are very high. The morning coffee to go is also more convenient, but costs more. As with coffee, however, it can be worth diving into. However, you might find a new time-intensive hobby with both coffee and Bitcoin.
Transparency and disclaimer
I was not paid by anyone for this blog post, it reflects my subjective opinion.
If you open accounts or business relationships, order products or services through my links and codes, I may receive a commission for doing so. However, you will not suffer any disadvantages such as higher prices or the like. The terms and conditions of the respective providers apply. Affiliate links are marked with a *.
Investments are associated with risks which, in the worst case, can lead to the loss of the capital invested.
All publications, i.e. reports, presentations, notices as well as contributions to blogs on this website (“Publications”) are for information purposes only and do not constitute a trading recommendation with regard to the purchase or sale of securities. The publications merely reflect my opinion. Despite careful research, I do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the information contained in the publications.