Statement on the Self-Proclaimed "Federal Association for Digital Currencies"

With great surprise, we took note on Friday afternoon of an interview with Mr. Oliver Olbrich, in which he announced the existence of a “Bundesverband für Digitale Währungen” (Federal Association for Digital Currencies) (see: Facebook). The apparent intention is to create the impression that this “association” was initiated, legitimized, or supported by us.

This is absolutely not the case, and we want to explicitly emphasize in this statement that we have no connection to these self-proclaimed “representatives.” In our view, this is definitely not a federal or industry association.

No relevant company or startup in the blockchain or digital currency space was consulted or involved beforehand, let alone has ever heard of the individuals involved. Mr. Olbrich claims to be excellently connected and to speak for all major “players.” We strongly reject this claim.

It also bears mentioning that Mathias Roch, co-owner of the ‘House Of Nakamoto’, is not a board member of the “Federal Association” contrary to the claim on its website, and has never agreed to be one.

The founding of this “Federal Association” is therefore a systematic case of misleading the public by board members who have no demonstrable expertise in digital currencies and blockchain, something they themselves confirmed in the interview.

We have worked for years as pioneers in this industry, pushing through at times against considerable headwinds. Now, as this technology gradually reaches the mainstream, more and more self-promoters and free riders are trying to jump on the bandwagon.

We have been organized for years through the association Bitcoin Austria and are also building FinTech Austria, a strong alliance of all major FinTech companies in Austria.

In closing, we will advocate for our interests even more strongly going forward, in order to continue advancing this forward-looking technology in Austria. We therefore invite you to contact Bitcoin Austria, Fintech Austria, and the companies directly.

With best regards,

• Eric Demuth (co-CEO bitpanda - Coinimal GmbH) – bitpanda.com
• Paul Klanschek (co-CEO bitpanda - Coinimal GmbH) – bitpanda.com
• Johannes Grill (President Bitcoin Austria) – bitcoin-austria.at
• Harald Schilly (Board Member Bitcoin Austria) – bitcoin-austria.at
• Daniel Pichler (Board Member Bitcoin Austria) – bitcoin-austria.at
• Michael Nebel (Board Member Bitcoin Austria) – bitcoin-austria.at
• Andreas Kern (Board Member Bitcoin Austria) – bitcoin-austria.at
• Andreas Petersson (Board Member Bitcoin Austria; Minebox IT Services GmbH) – minebox.io
• Patrick Pöschl (Chairman FinTech Austria) – fintechaustria.org
• Max Tertinegg (CEO Coinfinity GmbH) – coinfinity.co
• Magdalena Isbrandt (Managing Director House Of Nakamoto) – thehouseofnakamoto.com
• Ralph Pichler (Ethereum Vienna; RIAT) – riat.ac.at
• Paul Rieger (NEM Vienna; RIAT) – riat.ac.at
• Markus Zimmermann (RIAT) – riat.ac.at