wiss Federal Assembly Approves

Instructions on Cryptocurrency
Regulation
NEWS

The legislative body of the Swiss government, the Federal Assembly, has approved a
motion to instruct the Federal Council to adapt existing legislation for
cryptocurrency regulation. Coitelegraph auf Deutsch reported on the development on
March 20.

The motion introduced by Liberal assemblyman Giovanni Merlini intends to instruct the
Federal Council to adapt existing provisions on procedural instruments of judicial and
administrative authorities, so that they can also be applied to cryptocurrencies. The
Council approved the motion introduced with 99 to 83 votes in favor and 10
abstensions.

The move aims to close perceived gaps in protecting cryptocurrency users from illicit
activities like extortion and money laundering. The legislation is set to determine how
to stifle cryptocurrency-associated risks, as well as whether entities operating crypto
trading platforms should be equated with financial intermediaries, and thus be subject
to financial market supervision.

Following the approval, Swiss finance minister Ueli Maurer reportedly stated that the
proposed developments exceeded the scope of the planned regulation.

Last December, Maurer indicated that instead of a

specific blockchain or cryptocurrency legal framework, Switzerland should tweak
existing laws to allow for the new technology and its financial application.

Earlier in March, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), a Swiss-based

international banking authority, warned that the robust growth of the crypto industry
could potentially “raise financial stability concerns and increase risks faced by banks.”
The BCBS also argued that crypto assets are “unsafe to rely on” as a medium of
exchange or store of value — two of the main functions of money — implying that
“cryptocurrency” is a misnomer.
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