Switzerland Introduces Regulations on ICOs

Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, a Swiss government body responsible for regulating banks, insurance companies and all the other financial institutions in Switzerland announced regulations on initial coin offerings in the country in a bid to become another nation favorable to cryptocurrencies.

They released the guidelines in the form of a downloadable pdf and said it was there to make ICOs more secure, transparent and safe, ambcrypto reported.

The main concerns that were tackled by these regulations were:

- provisions on combating money laundering and terrorist financing

- banking law provisions

- provisions on securities trading, and

- provisions set out in collective investment scheme legislation.

They also said that all the existing ICOs are also being evaluated to check whether they meet the required rules. The ones that don’t meet the standards will be sent a notice regarding the issue.

The tokens will be classified into three types namely: Utility tokens, payment tokens, and asset tokens. FINMA had a lot of emphasis regarding the transparency in the market and says: “Creating transparency at this time is important given the dynamic market and high level of demand.”

They even cautioned investors about the possible threats that these ICOs possess. The CEO of FINMA says: “…blockchain-based projects conducted analogously to regulated activities cannot simply circumvent the tried and tested regulatory framework. Our balanced approach to handling ICO projects and inquiries allows legitimate innovators to navigate the regulatory landscape and so launch their projects in a way consistent with our laws protecting investors and the integrity of the financial system.”

Jonathan Meier, a security analyst at a cloud mining farm says: “This is good news for the crypto world, there needs to be some regulation and I think people are receiving it well all over the world. Regulation means that now we can expect big-time players to enter the ICO market. Get ready for the boom.”