Relai is a private company founded in July 2020 by Julian Liniger and Adem Bilican, with its headquarters located in Zurich, Switzerland.
The company holds one-third of its treasury in Bitcoin and operates with a team of 30 employees. Relai’s mission is to make Bitcoin more accessible and easier to use, focusing on bringing the benefits of Bitcoin to European users.
With a Bitcoin-only approach, the company has built a platform that allows users to buy, hold, and manage Bitcoin non-custodial. Despite regulatory challenges across Europe, Relai continues to grow, providing its services primarily to newcomers in the cryptocurrency space.
You can learn more about the company at its official website.
Julian Liniger, co-founder of Relai, is on a mission to increase Bitcoin adoption across Europe. Despite facing stringent regulations, Liniger and his team continue to push forward with their vision to make Bitcoin more accessible to everyday users.
Since its founding in July 2020, Relai has focused on making Bitcoin easy to buy and hold, without relying on custodial services.
Liniger’s Vision for Bitcoin Accessibility
Liniger, a Swiss entrepreneur and former Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, is committed to bringing Bitcoin to the masses. He emphasizes that approximately 90% of Europeans still don’t own Bitcoin and that his company, Relai, targets newcomers who are unfamiliar with the cryptocurrency.
“We are working to make Bitcoin more accessible, easier to use, and easier to buy for normal people,” Liniger said. Relai focuses on offering an intuitive, Bitcoin-only platform to ease the process for users.
Overcoming Regulatory Hurdles
To achieve his goal of onboarding more Europeans to Bitcoin, Liniger acknowledges that Relai must comply with stringent European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) regulations. As a Bitcoin-focused platform, Relai adheres to Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, ensuring the company remains legally compliant.
Although regulations can be frustrating, Liniger approaches them pragmatically. As a business leader, he understands the importance of following legal frameworks even when they conflict with his libertarian-leaning views.
Relai’s Early Days and Growth
Liniger’s journey with Bitcoin began in 2015, when he became captivated by the cryptocurrency’s potential. His understanding deepened during his time in San Francisco in 2017, where he experienced the Ethereum boom firsthand.
Upon returning to Switzerland in 2018, Liniger founded Bravis, a consulting firm that helped banks navigate Bitcoin services. However, he felt compelled to create something bigger, leading to the foundation of Relai in 2019 alongside Adem Bilican.
At first, Relai considered offering other cryptocurrencies alongside Bitcoin.
However, after receiving feedback from its users and the Bitcoin community, Liniger decided to make Relai a Bitcoin-only platform, positioning Bitcoin as the most reliable long-term savings technology.
Developing a European User Base
Based in Zurich, Relai had a strategic advantage due to Switzerland’s relatively lenient regulatory environment.
However, Liniger’s ambitions extended far beyond Switzerland. With a population of 8.7 million in Switzerland compared to over 500 million in the EU and UK, Relai set its sights on the broader European market.
In the past four years, Relai has acquired over 120,000 users across Europe. Despite facing limitations on actively marketing to EU customers, the app’s user base continues to grow, particularly in Germany, Italy, and France.
Liniger is confident that Relai’s growth will accelerate further once the company secures a French license, allowing it to market to EU customers legally. By the start of next year, Liniger expects Relai to be licensed under the new Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), enabling the company to actively acquire users across Europe.
The Cost of Compliance
Running a Bitcoin company in Europe comes with regulatory challenges.
Liniger notes that regulatory scrutiny has intensified across the financial sector. He shared that many companies allocate significant resources to compliance, with some teams focused on this area making up one-third of the overall workforce.
Although Relai lacks the financial muscle of larger companies like Coinbase and Kraken, which can afford to fight regulators in court, Liniger has chosen to comply with KYC regulations. By October 31, 2024, all Relai users will be required to complete KYC procedures to continue using the app.
While this shift may deter some privacy-conscious users, Liniger remains focused on his long-term vision of bringing Bitcoin to the masses.
What’s Next for Relai?
Liniger believes that Bitcoin adoption will continue to grow, particularly among the younger generation, who tend to distrust traditional financial institutions. He sees Relai as the ideal platform for users who want to take self-custody of their Bitcoin and use it as a sovereign savings technology.
“The more progressive younger people will want to take custody themselves,” Liniger said. “They will use something like Relai where they can buy directly into self-custody and set up a savings plan, using it as a sovereign way of saving their money and their purchasing power into the future.”
With a clear mission, Liniger and his team at Relai are well-positioned to lead Bitcoin adoption across Europe, despite the regulatory obstacles they face.
Conclusion
Relai’s commitment to making Bitcoin accessible to the European market is unwavering. Despite the regulatory hurdles, the company has grown its user base significantly since its inception.
As the regulatory landscape evolves, particularly with the introduction of MiCA, Relai is set to expand even further. With its user-focused, Bitcoin-only approach, Relai is on track to become a key player in Europe’s cryptocurrency scene.