Trading Regulation

Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) oversees one of the world’s most developed regulatory frameworks for digital asset trading. Coverage includes the securities dealer licence under FinIA, banking licence requirements for digital asset custody and trading, FINMA’s guidance on DLT and crypto assets, VQF and other FINMA-recognised SRO frameworks, and the regulatory requirements applying to exchanges, OTC desks, and trading infrastructure providers operating in Crypto Valley.

The Swiss regulatory framework for digital assets is distinguished by its specificity and coherence. Rather than attempting to force digital assets into pre-existing regulatory categories designed for traditional securities, Switzerland enacted the DLT Act in 2021 to create purpose-built legal infrastructure — including the DLT trading facility authorisation, the concept of DLT securities with direct on-chain enforceability, and amendments to insolvency law providing for the segregation of crypto-assets in bankruptcy. This legislative approach has given Switzerland a structural regulatory advantage that competing jurisdictions are still working to replicate.

Our regulation coverage examines this framework in practical detail: the licensing pathways available to different types of market participants (exchanges, brokers, custodians, technology providers); the capital, organisational, and governance requirements attached to each licence category; FINMA’s evolving guidance on topics including staking, DeFi, and tokenised fund distribution; and the compliance obligations that apply to Swiss-licensed firms under anti-money laundering legislation, sanctions regulations, and cross-border service provision rules. We also track regulatory developments as they emerge — new FINMA circulars, enforcement actions, and legislative proposals — providing the timely intelligence that compliance teams and legal counsel require to maintain operational readiness.