Neuchâtel punches well above its weight on the Swiss crypto map. With 85 blockchain companies, the 2025 CV VC industry report counted exactly as many as in Geneva – with roughly a third of the population. This is where Bity, one of the country’s oldest crypto brokers, was born; where the company behind the peer-to-peer marketplace Peach Bitcoin is domiciled; and where Le Paradigme Bitcoin, the leading bitcoin conference in French-speaking Switzerland, takes place. And yet it is the cantonal bank that has turned its back on crypto trading. Whether you are a long-standing resident, a researcher at the university or new to the region, this page puts it all in context and shows how to buy, pay and declare crypto in Neuchâtel.
Buying bitcoin in Neuchâtel
Bity: from ATM pioneer to private desk
Bity was founded in Neuchâtel in 2014 and is based at Rue des Usines 44. The company describes itself as Switzerland’s first regulated crypto firm and the first to put crypto ATMs in front of the public. It is affiliated with the SO-FIT Self-regulatory organisation: a FINMA-recognised body that supervises its members’ anti-money-laundering duties. and audited by BDO. In 2023 Bity took FINMA to court over the CHF 1,000 limit for purchases without identification; we could not confirm the outcome. In August 2024 co-founder Alexis Roussel left the company.
What matters for private customers: Bity now presents itself as a provider of professional crypto trading. Its website features a private trade desk for larger amounts, with a fee negotiated per transaction of "up to 2.5%", plus custody, tokenisation and Bity Gold, tokenised gold backed by Metalor. The former instant exchange for small amounts and the Bity ATMs no longer appear. For six-figure sums Bity is one local option among several, as our guide to crypto OTC in Switzerland shows; for your first bitcoin, less so.
Online and at a bank
For most amounts, buying online with a transfer from a Swiss bank account remains the cheapest route – see buying crypto by bank transfer. 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, and franc deposits are not available. Kraken accepts francs via SIC through Bank Frick, free and same-day. Mt Pelerin, with offices in Geneva and Neuchâtel, charges no commission on bank transfers up to CHF 500 of annual volume and is one of the few providers that lets you buy with cash at a post office counter, see our Mt Pelerin review.
Among banks, PostFinance with 22 coins in e-finance and Swissquote with 55 cryptocurrencies are the obvious choices; Swissquote’s subsidiary Yuh offers 50 tokens from CHF 10 at 1% per trade. Why BCN is no longer an option for many is explained further down.
Peach Bitcoin: TWINT, peer to peer
A Neuchâtel speciality is Peach Bitcoin. Peach Sàrl is domiciled in Neuchâtel, affiliated with the PolyReg SRO and runs a marketplace where individuals trade bitcoin directly with each other. The seller locks their bitcoin in escrow with Peach, the buyer pays the seller directly – in francs, for example by TWINT, bank transfer or Revolut – and Peach then releases the coins. The platform charges 2% of the amount released plus network fees; each seller sets their own price. Only bitcoin is traded. That makes Peach one of the very few verifiable ways to buy bitcoin with TWINT: no exchange or banking app accepts it, as our page on buying crypto with TWINT explains.
- Compare the offer’s premium with the current market price – the seller sets the price.
- Only pay once the seller’s bitcoin is locked in Peach’s escrow.
- Pay only by the method agreed in the app and keep all communication inside the app.
- Start with a small amount and keep proof of payment.
- Use your own wallet, with the recovery words written down offline.
Cash and ATMs
BTC Map lists two crypto ATMs in the city of Neuchâtel, both without an address: "Bity – City Centre" and a Värdex machine. Up in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the map lists a Värdex ATM at Avenue Léopold-Robert 68.
Without an ATM, you can use a post office counter with a Mt Pelerin QR bill (no ID up to CHF 999 within 30 days) or the SBB ticket machine at Neuchâtel station, where SweePay AG (Zug) sells bitcoin and ether as a paper wallet for CHF 20 to 500. More on bitcoin ATMs in Switzerland and buying bitcoin with cash.
BCN customers: what the crypto exit means
Banque cantonale neuchâteloise had long been seen as open to the sector. All the bigger the surprise when, in January 2024, it told customers that from June it would no longer allow crypto trading to pass through its accounts – as reported by Blick, citing Le Temps. Director Pierre-Alain Leuenberger pointed to the excessive workload of checking such transactions; FINMA generally highlights heightened money-laundering risks in crypto trading. Alain Ribaux, the cantonal minister responsible for the economy, said he understood the decision and put the number of problematic clients at "three or four". Green Liberal members of the cantonal parliament promptly filed an interpellation calling the move a strategic mistake for the local economy.
BCN has not explained publicly in detail which payments it turns away; at least, we found no such clarification. In practice: if your salary account is at BCN, do not assume that a transfer to a crypto platform will go through. Ask first – or use one of the routes below.
| PostFinance | Swissquote / Yuh | Platform via SIC | Swiss Post + Mt Pelerin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it works | Crypto directly in e-finance | Crypto in the bank account or app | Transfer from an account at another bank | Cash at the counter with a QR bill |
| Cost | 0.95% plus 0.15% a year | from 1% per trade | e.g. Kraken Pro 0.40% / 0.80% | 0–1.3% by volume |
| Requirement | Swiss tax residence | Account with Swissquote or Yuh | A second bank account | No ID up to CHF 999 in 30 days |
For the banking route, see our pages on crypto at PostFinance and our Swissquote review.
If you have an account at another Swiss bank, buying online by bank transfer is usually the most cost-effective option.
Operating since 2013Group registered with FinCEN (US) and the FCA (UK)
A blockchain hub on a human scale
Neuchâtel is a member of the Swiss Blockchain Federation – ahead of Geneva, which only joined in September 2025 as the fifth canton. Besides Bity and Peach, Mt Pelerin has an office in the city. In 2025 the economic promotion agency GGBa spoke of more than 90 blockchain companies in the canton; figures vary depending on how the sector is defined, but the order of magnitude is clear.
- 2014
Bity is founded in Neuchâtel; the company sees itself as a pioneer of public crypto ATMs in Switzerland.
- 2022
First edition of the Le Paradigme Bitcoin conference.
- 2024
From June, BCN stops accepting crypto trading through its accounts; Bity’s leadership changes in August.
- 2025
Coworking Blockchain Neuchâtel opens in July; Le Paradigme Bitcoin draws around 300 attendees.
- 2026
Fifth edition of Le Paradigme Bitcoin in June, again at the coworking space.
Le Paradigme Bitcoin and meetups
Le Paradigme Bitcoin is the largest bitcoin conference in French-speaking Switzerland. According to the organisers, the 2025 edition brought together 300 people from Switzerland, France and Belgium, 20% more than the year before. The fifth edition took place in 2026 with a target of 400 attendees. The programme looks at bitcoin through nine lenses, from economics and energy to game theory – with the theme of time deliberately tied to Neuchâtel’s watchmaking heritage. Talks are mostly in French, so it is also a good way into the francophone bitcoin community.
If you would rather not wait for the next edition, the Bitcoin Association Switzerland runs a Bitcoin Meetup Neuchâtel via Meetup.com, free and usually without a speaker. The group "Découvre Bitcoin" is listed on BTC Map as Neuchâtel’s local community, and in the neighbouring canton, Bitcoin Jura is active.
Paying with bitcoin in Neuchâtel
For a city of this size, the list is respectable. BTC Map counts eleven locations within 3.5 kilometres, nearly all of them verified by volunteers. Alongside Coffice and the ello shop, La Frite Vagabonde at Place du Port 4, La maison du dormir at Rue du Seyon 23, the Cordonnerie de Neuchâtel shoe repairer and the developer FBO Developments accept bitcoin. Payment usually runs over A layer built on top of Bitcoin for instant, very cheap small payments via QR code.. A café, a chip stand and a cobbler: it is not Lugano, but it is more than Lausanne.
Tax in the canton of Neuchâtel
We found no crypto-specific guidance from the cantonal tax office, so the principles of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration apply. Crypto is subject to Annual cantonal tax on net assets at year-end; crypto counts like securities. at its value on 31 December; for major coins, use the rates from the federal ICTax list. Holdings go in the securities list, for example using Neuchâtel’s Clic&Tax software. Private capital gains are tax-free, income from staking, lending, mining and airdrops is taxable, and very active trading can be treated as a professional activity. The details are in crypto tax in Switzerland and declaring crypto on your tax return.
The mountains, the Jura and neighbours
In La Chaux-de-Fonds, the watchmaking town in the Neuchâtel mountains, stands the Värdex ATM on Avenue Léopold-Robert mentioned above. Further north, the Bitcoin Jura group brings together bitcoiners in the canton of Jura. In Fribourg, by contrast, we found neither BTC Map entries within 3.5 kilometres nor a meetup. Biel/Bienne, with three Värdex ATMs on BTC Map and its own Einundzwanzig meetup, is covered on our page about crypto in Bern, and Yverdon, with its Värdex machine, on crypto in Lausanne.
Geneva
Buying bitcoin in Geneva: a cash crypto counter in Pâquis, around 19 ATMs, banks that offer crypto, rules for expats and cross-border workers, and Geneva tax.
Lausanne & Vaud
Crypto in Lausanne and Vaud: SwissBorg’s head office, EPFL, around 18 ATMs, Swissquote in Gland, where BCV stands and how Vaud taxes your crypto holdings.
Bern & Biel
Buying bitcoin in Bern and Biel: crypto ATMs, places that take Lightning, meetups from Burgdorf to Thun and what the Bern tax administration says about crypto.
All regions
Buying bitcoin where you live: crypto-friendly banks, ATMs, tax practice and meetups in Zurich, Zug, Geneva, Lugano, Basel, Bern and other Swiss regions.
