News

Switzerland considers blockchain tech within existing financial laws

Tuesday 18 December 2018 09:24 CET | News

The government of Switzerland has announced plans to accommodate the blockchain sector within its existing financial laws.

The country’s Federal Council issued a report, providing a legal framework for distributed ledger technology (DLT) or blockchain. Firstly, the council has proposed an amendment to the country’s securities law to increase the legal certainty of crypto tokens.

The council also wants to segregate crypto assets from the insolvent debtors’ total estate in bankruptcy proceedings. Further, the government body has proposed the creation of a new “authorization category” for infrastructure providers in the blockchain sector, and will make amendments to its Financial Market Infrastructure Act accordingly.

At the moment, the council has not yet proposed any specific changes, as the central definitions of the terms “securities” and “derivatives” in financial market regulations are also relevant for blockchain-based business models.

Regarding the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Act, the council said the legislation is currently adequate enough to also cover activities related to cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs).


Free Headlines in your E-mail

Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.

Subscribe now

Keywords: Switzerland, blockchain, tokens, assets, cryptocurrency, financial laws, ICOs, DLT
Categories:
Companies:
Countries: World