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Switzerland

Europe · Comprehensive

Switzerland's DLT Act remains the reference model for tokenised securities infrastructure. FINMA's proof-of-ownership requirement is the world's strictest Travel Rule interpretation, and the SNB's wholesale CBDC pilot with SIX is now settling live equity trades in central bank digital money.

DAI Methodology v2.1 Last updated June 2026
DAI Readiness Score™
85.0
out of 100
Regulatory & Enforcement Agencies

Regulatory agencies for Switzerland — being verified. Submit a suggestion →

Regulatory status

Comprehensive

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Primary regulator

FINMA · Swiss National Bank

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Licensing requirements

DLT Act (2021) — dedicated DLT trading facility licence; banking, fund, and securities dealer licences for other activities; FinTech licence for deposit-taking.

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AML requirements

AMLA + FINMA Circular 08/03; SRO membership mandatory for non-bank VASPs; CHF 1,000 threshold for non-verified transactions.

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Travel Rule status

Implemented — FINMA Guidance 02/2019 — strictest globally: proof-of-ownership required for self-hosted wallet transfers of any size.

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Tax treatment

Wealth tax on holdings; no CGT for private individuals; income tax on professional trading and staking.

Source unavailable
Consumer protection

FIDLEG suitability and disclosure obligations for tokenised financial instruments.

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Key legislation
2021
DLT Act

Amends nine federal statutes to accommodate tokenised securities and DLT trading venues.

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2024
FINMA Stablecoin Guidance

Deposit vs collective investment vs security classification tests.

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Recent developments
2026-05-20
SIX obtains second DLT trading facility licence

Post-trade settlement in central bank digital money via SNB pilot.

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2026-04-08
FINMA sanctions two SRO members

Travel Rule proof-of-ownership failures; supervisory fines and monitorships imposed.

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Primary Sources & Official Documents
  1. 01
    FATF Recommendations (including Recommendation 15 — new technologies)
    Financial Action Task Force · Updated periodically
    https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/topics/fatfrecommendations.html
  2. 02
    FATF Targeted Update on Implementation of the Standards on VAs and VASPs
    Financial Action Task Force · Annual
    https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfrecommendations.html
  3. 03
    High-Risk and Other Monitored Jurisdictions (grey and black lists)
    Financial Action Task Force · Updated three times a year
    https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions.html

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Sources:FINMA Guidance 02/2019 · SNB Project Helvetia
Professional disclaimerDigital Asset Intelligence content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, investment, or compliance advice. Regulatory positions change frequently; verify all material with primary sources and qualified counsel before relying on it for licensing, supervisory, or compliance decisions.