Ombudsman affiliation requirement: new limitations On 25 September 2020, Parliament adopted the Federal Act on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT bill), with the aim to keep Switzerland a leading, innovative and sustainable location in the blockchain and DLT sector. As part of the parliamentary deliberations on the DLT,...Read More

Blockchain and distributed ledger technology: no repercussions for tax law Bern, 19.06.2020 – During its meeting on 19 June 2020, the Federal Council took note of the report on the need to amend tax law with regard to blockchain. The report concluded that no special legislative amendments to tax law are necessary. As regards income,...Read More

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has published guidance on how it applies Swiss anti-money laundering rules to financial services providers supervised by FINMA in the area of blockchain technology. FINMA has also issued banking licences to two new blockchain service providers. FINMA recognises the innovative potential of new technologies for the financial industry....Read More

Switzerland aims to develop Blockchain in the country The Swiss government has advised regulators not to create new legislations but instead make adjustments to existing laws to accommodate companies in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. The amendments should focus on enhancing Switzerland’s position as a blockchain-friendly country, the Swiss Federal Council said last week. On...Read More

Crypto Fund wins first Swiss crypto asset management licence   The Swiss financial regulator has issued the country’s first cryptocurrency asset management licence, allowing Crypto Fund to offer services to institutional clients in the blockchain-based asset class. The Zug-headquartered company had earlier this year been granted limited freedom to distribute offshore-based cryptocurrency funds by the...Read More