Crypto-assets and digital assets

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Switzerland has been one of the first jurisdictions to develop a legal framework for crypto-assets and digital assets. In 2018, FINMA published guidelines on initial coin offerings, which classified tokens into payment tokens, utility tokens and asset tokens, and applied the existing financial market laws according to the economic function of the token. The classification became an international reference.¹

In 2021, the Federal Act on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology, known as the DLT Act, amended several laws to accommodate digital assets. It introduced the ledger-based security, a right that is registered in a distributed ledger and can be transferred only through the ledger, into the Code of Obligations. It clarified the treatment of crypto-assets in bankruptcy, allowing their segregation from the estate of a failed custodian. And it created a new licence category, the DLT trading facility, for multilateral trading systems for DLT securities.²

The Swiss framework has attracted crypto and blockchain companies, many of which established themselves in the canton of Zug, which became known as Crypto Valley, as the companion volume on Zug describes. Basel has a smaller presence in this field, but its banks, in particular the Basler Kantonalbank and several private banks, have begun to offer custody and trading of crypto-assets and digital assets to their clients. The Bank for International Settlements in Basel, through its Innovation Hub, has conducted research and pilot projects on central bank digital currencies, tokenisation and the regulation of crypto-assets, which Part K examines. The author, who has advised on more than five hundred international mandates involving crypto-assets and digital assets, has observed how Switzerland's early and pragmatic approach gave it a competitive advantage, and how the international standards developed in Basel and the European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, in force since 2024, now shape the global framework.³ In 2025, the Federal Council proposed new licence categories for payment instrument institutions and crypto institutions, to adapt the Swiss framework to the growth of stablecoins and crypto services.⁴

Notes

FINMA, Guidelines for enquiries regarding the regulatory framework for initial coin offerings (ICOs), 16 February 2018, and the supplement on stablecoins of 11 September 2019; FINMA Guidance 06/2024 on stablecoins. To be verified. ↩
Federal Act of 25 September 2020 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT Act), in force in stages in 2021 (ledger-based securities, Art. 973d ff. CO; segregation in bankruptcy, Art. 242a SchKG; DLT trading facilities, Art. 73a ff. FinMIA). To be verified. ↩
Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA), applicable in full since 30 December 2024; Basel Committee standard on the prudential treatment of cryptoasset exposures (December 2022, amended 2024). To be verified. ↩
On the consultation draft of the Federal Council of October 2025 on new licence categories for payment instrument institutions and crypto institutions in the Financial Institutions Act, see the publications of the Federal Department of Finance. Status to be verified. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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Crypto-assets and digital assets

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?