Stablecoins under current law

Deposits, guarantees and the Banking Ordinance

Under the law in force in 2026, Switzerland has no special statute for stablecoins. Their treatment follows from the supplement of 2019 and from the general rules of banking, collective investment and anti-money laundering law. A stablecoin whose issuer promises redemption at a fixed value in a currency, and whose reserve is held for the account and at the risk of the issuer, usually gives rise to a deposit within the meaning of Article 1 paragraph 2 BankA and Article 5 BankO. Its issuer therefore needs a banking licence under Article 1a BankA, or a FinTech licence within the limits of Article 1b BankA, unless an exception applies. The most important exception is found in Article 5 paragraph 3 letter f BankO. It excludes from the concept of deposits those funds whose repayment and payment of interest are guaranteed by a bank (default guarantee). Several Swiss issuers used this route because it allowed them to issue Swiss franc or euro stablecoins without a licence of their own.¹

Guidance 06/2024

FINMA observed that the guarantees used in practice often did not protect the holders. On 26 July 2024 it published Guidance 06/2024 on stablecoins, setting out minimum requirements for default guarantees and drawing attention to the risks of money laundering. A guarantee must cover the individual claims of each holder in the event of the issuer's bankruptcy. It must cover at least the total amount of all deposits, which means the total of all claims, and the issuer may not accept more deposits than the guaranteed amount. Holders must be informed about the existence of the guarantee. Its exercise must be uncomplicated and fast, without formal or material requirements that would impede it. The guarantor may raise only objections that arise by law. Additional defences inserted into the guarantee agreement are not permitted.²

The guidance also addressed anti-money laundering law. FINMA required stablecoin issuers to verify adequately the identity of all persons holding their stablecoins. This applies to the first buyers and to holders who acquire the tokens on the secondary market. FINMA made no exception for holders who keep the tokens in private wallets.³ The requirement goes far beyond the practice of the large international issuers, whose tokens circulate freely between wallets once issued. It made the issuance of an openly transferable stablecoin from Switzerland practically impossible for an issuer relying on a bank guarantee. The Swiss market for such tokens accordingly remained small.

USDT and foreign stablecoins in Lugano

The stablecoins that matter in Lugano are mostly foreign. USDT, the US dollar token issued by Tether, plays a central role in Plan ₿. The City of Lugano accepts it for the payment of certain taxes and fees through a payment provider, as Chapter I.I explains. Swiss law does not regulate the issuer of USDT. Tether is not established in Switzerland and issues the token under the law of its own jurisdiction. Swiss law applies to the Swiss persons who deal in it: the bank or exchange that sells USDT to a client, the custodian that holds it and the merchant's payment provider that converts it into francs. These intermediaries are subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act and, where they hold client tokens, to the custody rules described above. On 3 March 2026 the City of Lugano and Tether renewed their memorandum of understanding for four years, extending the cooperation to 2030.⁴

For the Swiss user of a foreign stablecoin the legal position is that of a holder of a claim against a foreign issuer, governed by foreign law and secured, if at all, by foreign reserves. Article 242a DEBA protects the holder against the bankruptcy of a Swiss custodian. It does not protect the holder against the insolvency of the issuer. The reform proposed in 2025 would bring foreign stablecoins within the scope of the new crypto-institutions, which could offer them only on certain conditions. It would not regulate their issuers.⁵

The European contrast

MiCAR distinguishes between e-money tokens, which refer to the value of a single official currency, and asset-referenced tokens, which refer to another value or right or a combination. Since 30 June 2024 an e-money token may be offered to the public in the European Union only by a credit institution or an electronic money institution. Its holders have a claim against the issuer for redemption at par value at any time, and the issuer may pay no interest.⁶ A Swiss franc stablecoin issued in Switzerland is not an emoney token under MiCAR. It could not be offered to the public in Italy unless it was issued by an EU institution authorized under the Regulation. The Swiss reform aims at a comparable level of protection with a category of "value-stable crypto-based payment instruments" issued by payment instrument institutions. Whether the two regimes will be recognized as equivalent is an open question.

Common misconception. A stablecoin is often said to be "as good as cash". In Swiss law it is a claim against its issuer, or, for a foreign token, a claim governed by foreign law. A Swiss holder is protected against the bankruptcy of a Swiss custodian under Article 242a DEBA. The insolvency of the issuer remains the holder's own risk. The guarantees used by Swiss issuers must meet the minimum requirements of FINMA Guidance 06/2024.

Notes

Art. 1 para. 2 and Art. 1a BankA (above); Art. 5 para. 1 and para. 3 lit. f BankO ("Gelder, deren Rückzahlung und Verzinsung durch eine Bank garantiert werden (Ausfallgarantie)"), https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/de-it/9/95/952.02-5-9.html. The use of the exception by Swiss stablecoin issuers follows Schellenberg Wittmer, "FINMA Guidance 06/2024 on Stablecoins" (below), which also confirms the classification of stablecoins as deposits and the exception under Art. 5 para. 3 lit. f BankO. ↩
Schellenberg Wittmer, "FINMA Guidance 06/2024 on Stablecoins", https://www.swlegal.com/en/insights/newsletter-detail/finma-guidance-062024-on-stablecoins/ (guidance of 26 July 2024; individual claims of each customer; at least "the total amount of all deposits"; no deposits above the guaranteed amount; information of customers; exercise "uncomplicated and fast"; objections only by law). ↩
Schellenberg Wittmer (above) (issuers must "adequately verify the identity of all persons holding their stablecoins", including secondary market holders). ↩
City of Lugano, Plan ₿, https://planb.lugano.ch/ (memorandum of understanding renewed on 3 March 2026 for four years, through 2030; Plan ₿ Foundation chaired by mayor Michele Foletti). On the payment of taxes and fees in USDT see Chapter I.I. ↩
State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF), Faktenblatt Stablecoins, October 2025, https://www.sif.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/dUviLBIEgTjT/Faktenblatt%20Stablecoins.pdf (crypto-institutions for crypto-based trading assets, "including foreign-issued stablecoins"). ↩
MiCAR, Arts. 48–50 and Art. 149 para. 3, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/? uri=CELEX:32023R1114, recitals 66 (issuers of e-money tokens "should be authorised either as a credit institution ... or as an electronic money institution"), 67 ("right of redemption at par value") and 68 ("should not grant interest to holders of e-money tokens"). The application of Titles III and IV from 30 June 2024 is confirmed by EUR-Lex, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32023R1114. ↩

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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