Switzerland’s Crypto Broker AG Wins Securities House License From FINMA

The first phase of Switzerland’s two-part crypto and blockchain regulatory framework is effective as of today. On Monday, part one of the Swiss blockchain law covering company reforms went into effect. Back in September 2020, the country’s parliament passed an expanded regulatory framework for crypto and blockchain technology in the country.According to a Swissinfo report, the implementation of the new regulatory paradigm will help to improve Switzerland’s burgeoning crypto and blockchain scene. Indeed, industry stakeholders in the country praised the expanded financial and corporate....

Switzerland is often thought of as a Bitcoin-friendly country. The Canton of Zug, for example, is sometimes called the crypto capital of the world and many Bitcoin service startups are located there, including Xapo, Shapeshift, Ethereum, Monetas, and Bitcoin Suisse. Companies wanting to do business in Switzerland need an approval by the Swiss Financial....

Xapo, a prominent Bitcoin wallet platform and solutions provider successfully obtained a conditional approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, hereinafter FINMA, this week. The approval of FINMA to financial service providers in Switzerland is equivalent to that of BitLicense to the New York-based Bitcoin exchange. Companies willing to engage in the Swiss financial market are required to be authorized by FINMA in order to provide financial service in the country. While there are many types of authorizations granted by FINMA, the most common set of approval is the....

The virtual event, which runs Oct. 19-22, brings together marquee names from Switzerland’s FINMA, Sweden’s Riksbank, Bank for International Settlements, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the International Monetary Fund to discuss stablecoin regulation, central bank digital currencies, the future of money and more.

But Bitcoin Suisse still has "many options on the table," says the firm's CEO. Switzerland's Financial Market Supervisory Authority — the country's principal financial regulator — has denied Bitcoin Suisse's application for a banking license. According to an official announcement on March 17, Bitcoin Suisse's current application is ineligible for approval on the grounds that "various elements that are relevant under licensing law make it unlikely that a license will be granted."The regulator said that it has withdrawn Bitcoin Suisse's application for a banking license and terminated the....