Crypto startup under pressure over Russia ties to Potanin

Zurich The plans could hardly have been more ambitious: the Swiss crypto start-up Eternyze has set out to digitize global trading in industrial metals such as nickel, copper and palladium. A blockchain solution should make commodity trading more transparent and efficient.

Eternyze had won numerous partners from the raw materials industry for pilot projects: These included traders such as Glencore, Trafigura and IXM, metal processors such as Umicore and William Rowland and financial service providers such as StoneX.

However, according to Handelsblatt research, several cooperation partners have suspended their cooperation. The reason: Eternyze is connected to the Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin. Eternyze and CEO Marco Grossi left inquiries from the Handelsblatt unanswered.

Potanin is one of the richest Russians and the majority shareholder of Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium. He is one of the confidants of Russian President Vladimir Putin and controls a key industry in the country.