Introducing the Swiss Subnet: A Secure and Compliant Blockchain Infrastructure Leveraging the Internet Computer Protocol

General
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Fellow Innovators and Advocates of the Internet Computer Ecosystem,

We are a Swiss-based team operating as Swiss Subnet AG, a legally registered entity in the Canton of Zug. With a clear vision to set up and exclusively operate a dedicated, geographically limited subnet on the Internet Computer, we believe the time is right to initiate discussions and gather feedback from the IC community.

Building on the approval of Proposal No. 128820 (SRC Motion Proposal), we are excited to introduce the Swiss Subnet—a bold initiative that combines the technology of the Internet Computer with the trusted legal frameworks of Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The architecture of Swiss Subnet will seamlessly integrate the security and transparency of public blockchains with the privacy and control of private networks, offering a solution for data sovereignty and performance optimization.

Vision

Our goal is to establish a new subnet consisting of 13 nodes located within Switzerland and Liechtenstein under the Subnet Rental Canister rules.

Key distinguishing features of the Swiss Subnet include:

— Georestricted node topology, limited exclusively to Switzerland and Liechtenstein

— Enhanced security architecture, featuring a ‘canister-in-canister’ implementation

— Full FADP and GDPR compliance, ensuring robust data protection and regulatory adherence

These features, combined with ICP’s advanced storage and cross-chain transaction capabilities, provide businesses and developers with a legally sound and highly secure infrastructure.

Team

We are a team deeply committed to the transformative potential of Web3, supported by Business Professionals with expertise in tech, marketing, PR, sales, and community engagement. Collaborating with key IC contributors, we are already actively developing technical solutions that will bring this vision to life.

Implementation Plan

In compliance with NNS rules, Node Providers and Data Centers will adhere to approved topologies, and any onboarding will follow existing or future enforced procedures.

Why Switzerland and Liechtenstein?

While 10 nodes will be deployed in Switzerland, other three nodes are planned to be deployed in Liechtenstein. Such a configuration presents a distinct competitive advantage – allowing seamless access to both the Swiss market and the broader European Union market of 500 million people, while keeping the highest regulatory standards.

Switzerland and Liechtenstein share one of the most integrated administrative partnerships in the world, dating back over 100 years. This cooperation enhances the regulatory and operational efficiency of the Swiss Subnet, while ensuring jurisdiction-specific encryption and security.

Additionally, this strategic expansion will:

  • Leverage both Swiss Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Act and Liechtenstein’s Token and Trusted Technology Service Providers Act (TVTG).
  • Leverage both Swiss FADP and Europe GDPR data privacy laws.
  • Enable compliant tokenization of real-world assets.
  • Unlock new innovative use cases for financial institutions and enterprises.

Benefits for the Internet Computer

We believe the Swiss Subnet will deliver significant value to the ICP ecosystem by:

  • Driving Enterprise Adoption: Enabling use cases tailored to institutional and enterprise needs, which may not be feasible on public blockchains.
  • Driving HNWI Adoption: Additional security and privacy, embedded into the Swiss Subnet platform, makes our dApps more attractive to HNW individuals.
  • Boosting Economic Activity: Acting as a “Tenant” per SRC rules, the Swiss Subnet will contribute to cycle burning by renting computational capacity at full consumption rates (estimated burning of 820 XDR/day).
  • Expanding Ecosystem Growth: The Swiss Subnet team will actively participate in global conferences and events to showcase ICP’s technology and engage developers in building solutions tailored to real-world use cases.

Join the Conversation

  • The Swiss Subnet represents an exciting opportunity to expand the capabilities and reach of the Internet Computer.

We are eager to hear your thoughts:

  • What opportunities do you envision for the Swiss Subnet?
  • What challenges should we anticipate as we embark on this journey?
  • How can we collaborate to build a secure and innovative blockchain ecosystem?

Let’s work together to build the future of decentralized, compliant, and secure blockchain solutions.

Our website: www.subnet.ch

The Swiss Subnet Team

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Having observed this initiative for a while, I applaud this coming to realization. Beyond the technicalities, I believe this is of strategic importance for a number of reasons:

  • User demand - trustworthy custody remains essential for hi value assets. From watches, to real estate, to bankable assets, Switzerland and Liechtenstein have always been a trusted haven to safeguard assets. The region has adjusted itself to the modern transparent, compliant and digital era. Becoming a trusted location to house node infrastructure that protects digital assets is only a logical next step for the CH-FL region.
  • Infra - visitors of the region commonly remark that “Things just work over here”. This is more than trains and clocks ticking on time. It is deeply routed in the DNA of the country, a poor farming region less than 100 years ago, to engineer, build and maintain things for reliability and durability.
  • Decentralization - the country did not wait for blockchain to install decentralized governance. As one of the only countries in the world, it has referenda giving its people legislative power. It also decentralizes extensive power to its cantons, each of which will have a node of the Swiss Subnet.
  • Institutional use - CH and FL have an extraordinary large number of multinational corporations and institutions who increasingly look for strong protection of their digital assets, client data, patents, trademarks and intellectual property. Such enterprise use cases require a combination of public blockchain infra with sovereign infrastructure on own territory.
  • Advanced legislation - for a small nation, its legislator has been agile to adjust regulation to the digital age. Admittedly, much of it has remained intentions on paper. Initiatives like the Swiss Subnet will enable this to become a reality.

I congratulate the Swiss Subnet AG team for this initiative and hope that the community will join me in supporting them.

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Your insightful comments on the Swiss Subnet are much appreciated! :switzerland:

We acknowledge the strategic importance of blending Switzerland’s reputation for precision and reliability with blockchain technology. Our goal is to create a robust and compliant infrastructure for digital asset management.

The ‘canister-in-canister’ approach, with FADP and GDPR compliance, aims to address security and regulatory needs. We are focused on providing a stable environment for institutional adoption of blockchain.

Your observations are valuable as we continue to develop and refine the Swiss Subnet. We welcome ongoing feedback as we contribute to the evolving blockchain landscape.

Thanks for the support! :sparkles:

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The ‘canister-in-canister’ approach

I have not heard this term before, could you explain what you mean by this?

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Hi Michael,
Appreciate your interest in the project!

The canister-in-canister architecture is a core feature of the Swiss Subnet that strengthens security by allowing controlled deployment of canisters through other canisters. Developers can use this method to deploy secure, battle-tested canisters with specific functions.
Moreover, data encryption within the canister is handled through an application-layer encryption mechanism that leverages a zero-knowledge (ZK) approach.

Please let us know if you wish to discuss this further.