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Niklas Nikolajsen von Karlshof, officially Niels Niklas Bang Nikolajsen, founded Bitcoin Suisse AG in mid-2013. He served as CEO of the company until the end of 2017 and subsequently as chairman of the board of directors until the end of 2021. He is now the honorary chairman of Bitcoin Suisse AG, a position that holds no function in a governing body. He also founded and runs his family's private company, Nikolajsen Capital AG. Before founding Bitcoin Suisse AG, Niklas spent fifteen years as a professional software architect and software developer, primarily in the financial, manufacturing, and public sectors.
Niklas Nikolajsen is well known in the Swiss financial scene, mainly due to his fortune after he purchased Bitcoin in its early days when it was worth a few cents or dollars. Niklas received the first fifty Bitcoins for the equivalent of a coffee. He bought the next 1,000 Bitcoins just a few years later for $7,700.
His net worth is estimated at $350 million, and he is considered among the 300 richest people in Switzerland. He has been named to the prestigious list of Top 100 Bankers in Switzerland by BILANZ Magazine four times. In 2014, he also cofounded the Digital Finance Compliance Association, an organization dedicated to the digital and crypto finance industry.
An interview with Niklas Nikolajsen
In 2013, Niklas founded Bitcoin Suisse AG, a company that provides crypto-financial services. In 2010, he became an early adopter of Bitcoin. He was an early investor and proponent of crypto assets. In 2011, he moved from Denmark to Switzerland and worked as a consultant for a major Swiss financial institution, Credit Suisse, until he founded Bitcoin Suisse AG. He served as CEO of the company until the end of 2017. He then served as chairman of the board of directors until the end of 2021. He is now the honorary chairman of Bitcoin Suisse AG.
With Bitcoin Suisse AG, Niklas significantly shaped the crypto and blockchain ecosystem in Switzerland and was a driving force in the development of Crypto Valley and the "crypto nation of Switzerland." By the end of 2020, he had helped grow the company to $60.5 million in revenue. In early 2022, the company was valued at $432 million.
Niklas founded his own family company, Nikolajsen Capital AG, in 2018 in Zug, Switzerland.On November 9, 2018, Nikolajsen Capital AG entered into an agreement with Alfred Müller AG to purchase, renovate, and restore the St. Karlshof / Salesianum, a prominent historical property on the lake of Zug. The renovations are estimated to cost $35 million, and Niklas plans to make it his family home by end-of-year 2022. He plans to open to the public the St. Karl Borromäus chapel, a building on the property that was built in 1615. The chapel will become a museum dedicated to the history of the St. Karlshof / Salesianum, the Schweizerpsalm, the Swiss national anthem that was composed on the premises, and will house events of public interest in the local community.
Niklas earned a degree in computer science from the Copenhagen Business School in 1998. He was originally studying chemistry but switched to computer science in part due to the internet revolution. He graduated from Herlufsholm Kostskole high school in 1994.
Niklas married Anna-Christine Cath Hansen on May 5, 2018, at the Church of Holmen in Copenhagen. They have twin sons. In 2020, he and his wife stated they are applying for Swiss citizenship and plan to drop their Nordic name for "von Karlshof" when they become Swiss, in reference to the St. Karlshof / Salesianium they purchased in 2018.
Niklas's family can be traced back to the Faroe Islands for several generations, and he considers that an integral part of his past and heritage. He was also the director of the Liberland Settlement Association and received the Order of Merit of the Star of Liberland.In 2021, he had a role as himself in the movie "The Earned Life" and as himself in the movie "Operation Liberland" in 2018.
