Lausanne has an odd crypto record. On Rue du Grand-Chêne, a few steps from the Lausanne Palace, sits SwissBorg, one of Europe’s largest crypto apps. In Ecublens, EPFL researches blockchains and smart contracts, and the custody specialist Metaco, bought by Ripple in 2023, has its centre of gravity here. Yet if you want to pay in bitcoin on a Saturday in the Flon, the community map BTC Map offers exactly seven entries within four kilometres.
For buyers, that is no drawback. Most people buy online anyway, and Vaud even has, in Swissquote in Gland, a bank with one of the broadest crypto ranges in the country. Whether you are a student at EPFL or UNIL, a new arrival working for one of the region’s international employers or a long-time resident, this page sets out the practical routes in Lausanne and the canton, where the community meets and what applies on a Vaud tax return.
Buying bitcoin in Lausanne: your options
Platforms and apps
For most amounts, buying online with a transfer from a Swiss bank account is the cheapest route. After the Know Your Customer: the identity check required by law, with an ID document and usually a selfie. check you send francs and buy. CEX.IO has operated since 2013, with group entities registered in the US (FinCEN) and the UK (FCA). Swiss residents, however, contract with CEX OVRS LLC in Nevis, which names no regulator: there is no FINMA licence, no membership of a Swiss self-regulatory organisation and no franc deposits. Spot fees start at 0.15% maker and 0.25% taker. Kraken accepts francs via SIC through Bank Frick, free and same-day, with 0.40% (maker) and 0.80% (taker) on Kraken Pro. Mt Pelerin, founded in Geneva, charges no commission on bank transfers up to CHF 500 of annual volume, then 1.3%.
Then there is the home-grown option. SwissBorg lists around 400 cryptocurrencies. Francs are paid in by SWIFT transfer – SIC is not offered – and card payments cost Swiss customers 4.5%. Every exchange costs a flat 0.99%, part of which flows back as BORG tokens depending on your tier, and moving francs back to your bank account costs 0.10%, at least CHF 5 and at most CHF 110. There is no counter at head office: everything runs through the app. Since March 2026 the French subsidiary BlockNodes, authorised under MiCA, has served EU customers; we could not confirm a current membership of a Swiss Self-regulatory organisation: a FINMA-recognised body that supervises its members’ anti-money-laundering duties.. The full picture is in our SwissBorg review; for a properly set-up transfer, see buying crypto by bank transfer.
Banks in Vaud: BCV, Swissquote, PostFinance
At Banque Cantonale Vaudoise we found no way to buy bitcoin. Back in 2018, management said in an interview that the bank did not want to be a pioneer in new technologies. BCV has not stayed entirely on the sidelines, though: since April 2026 it has been part of a sandbox for a Swiss franc A crypto token whose value is pegged to an official currency such as the Swiss franc., alongside UBS, PostFinance, Raiffeisen, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Sygnum and Swiss Stablecoin AG. According to the announcement, there was no regulated Swiss franc stablecoin in broad use in Switzerland when the trial started. If you want to hold a franc-denominated token now, Frankencoin (ZCHF) is available on Mt Pelerin, for example – a private project without a bank guarantee, not to be confused with a future bank product.
| Swissquote (Gland) | PostFinance | SwissBorg (Lausanne) | BCV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | FINMA-licensed bank | Bank, crypto via Sygnum | App | Cantonal bank |
| Cryptos | 55 | 22 | around 400 | no offering found |
| Trading fee | from 1% (standard) | 0.95% | 0.99% flat | – |
| Ongoing costs | CHF 20–50 per quarter for the account | 0.15% a year | no custody fee stated | – |
| To your own wallet | yes, USD 10–15 per withdrawal | not stated | network fee + 0.1% | – |
Swissquote in Gland is the obvious Vaud address for crypto: 55 coins, staking on selected tokens for 20% of rewards, and withdrawals to your own wallet. Its subsidiary Yuh offers 50 tokens from CHF 10 at 1% per trade. PostFinance requires Swiss tax residence. Read more in our Swissquote review and the comparison of crypto banks in Switzerland.
Cash and ATMs
Coin ATM Radar counted 18 crypto ATMs in Lausanne and 19 in the canton in an older survey quoted by HelloSafe – as many as Lugano and more than Bern. We could not verify a current figure. BTC Map lists two in the city: one labelled "Rothbard" at Avenue William-Fraisse 4 and a Bity machine with no address. There is a catch: Bity, the Neuchâtel pioneer, no longer presents ATMs on its website, so the Bity machines listed in Lausanne and Morges may or may not still work. Värdex is the more dependable name: the operator cites more than 80 ATMs in Switzerland, is supervised by the VQF SRO and sells bitcoin and ether from CHF 50, with no ID needed up to CHF 1,000 in cash per person per 30 days. BTC Map shows Värdex machines in Yverdon, Vevey and Montreux, although the two Riviera entries are older.
- Look at the date of the last check on the map – entries from 2024 are often stale.
- Compare the displayed rate with the market price – the fee is built into the rate and rarely shown separately.
- Bring ID once you reach CHF 1,000 within 30 days.
- Only buy to your own wallet, never to an address someone dictates to you.
- Photograph the receipt and keep it for your tax return.
To swap cash without an ATM there are two reliable alternatives: a post office counter with a Mt Pelerin QR bill (no ID up to CHF 999 within 30 days) and the SBB ticket machines at Lausanne station, where SweePay AG (Zug) sells bitcoin and ether as a paper wallet for CHF 20 to 500, with a Swiss mobile number. Details are on bitcoin ATMs in Switzerland and buying bitcoin with cash. A staffed crypto counter is less than an hour away by train in Geneva: see crypto in Geneva.
For larger amounts, a transfer from a Swiss account to a platform is almost always cheaper than an ATM or a counter.
Operating since 2013Group registered with FinCEN (US) and the FCA (UK)
SwissBorg, Metaco, EPFL: crypto made in Lausanne
SwissBorg is the city’s most visible crypto employer. The group cites its Lausanne head office and an international team of more than 250 people. Less familiar to the public but more important for the financial industry is Metaco: the digital-asset custody specialist was bought by Ripple in 2023 for USD 250 million and, according to the economic promotion agency GGBa, still has its centre of gravity in Lausanne – one reason Ripple chose nearby Geneva for its Swiss base.
As early as 2019, the Crypto Valley Association launched its western Switzerland chapter at EPFL. Politically, Vaud is more reticent than its neighbours: it was not among the first six member cantons of the Swiss Blockchain Federation – Geneva and Neuchâtel were.
Paying with bitcoin in Lausanne
BTC Map’s seven entries do not take long to list. Qwertz bar at Rue de la Grotte 3, Black Luna restaurant at Place de l’Europe 7 in the Flon, the Unicorn Lab studio at Rue du Rôtillon 5, the Harmonie Vitale practice at Avenue du Léman 31 and Velox Transport in Pully accept bitcoin; the remaining two entries are ATMs. Payment usually runs over A layer built on top of Bitcoin for instant, very cheap small payments via QR code.. A Lausanne city council document mentions the idea of a local digital currency; according to our research, nothing has come of it. For adoption at scale, look to Lugano.
Where the community meets
The main point of contact is Bitcoin Lausanne, with a website and Telegram group; BTC Map lists it as the local community. The Bitcoin Association Switzerland stopped in Lausanne on its 2025 roadshow. For students, EPFL’s Blockchain Student Association is the natural way in. On the Riviera, bitcoiners meet through the Vingt-et-un Riviera-Chablais group, and the largest bitcoin conference in French-speaking Switzerland, Le Paradigme Bitcoin, takes place in Neuchâtel – see crypto in Neuchâtel.
Tax in the canton of Vaud
We found no crypto-specific guidance from the cantonal tax administration (ACI). The principles of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration, set out in its working paper of 14 December 2021 and applied by all cantons, therefore apply.
To fill in the form in practice, see declaring crypto on your tax return; the basics are covered in crypto tax in Switzerland, and staking income has its own guide on crypto staking in Switzerland.
Riviera, La Côte and northern Vaud
Outside Lausanne, crypto infrastructure is thin but not absent. In Montreux, BTC Map lists the shop Gem Swiss at Grand-Rue 74 and a Värdex ATM, with another in Vevey – both with older map entries. In Yverdon-les-Bains the map lists a Värdex ATM, and a Bity machine is listed in Morges. In Nyon, a traditional Chinese medicine practice accepts bitcoin. And in Gland, Swissquote remains the obvious Vaud address for trading crypto directly from a bank account. To compare with the rest of the country, see crypto in the Swiss regions.
